Alchemy School
by Rae Elric
Summary: Rae, Kaori, and their friends don't live a boring life. They go to a school made for alchemists and military workers. Betrayal and war change their lives, forcing the group to take unthinkable risks.
1. Prologue

My name is Rae Elric, once known as Rae Antkowiak, the BrokenHearted Alchemist. I am twenty-three years old.

Eleven years ago, my friends and I went to this Junior High that was made for alchemists and military workers in their teens... Cedarcrest, I believe the name was. Betrayal caused us to do some unthinkable things...

I remember going to to CJH. Fun times there. Trying to make a Philosopher's Stone to get rid of my automail arm... I even went against my military by making friends with an Ishbalan girl.

I also remember meeting Edward and Alphonse Elric, and the rest of my friends, too... They truly changed my life for the better.

But hey, I should stop telling you all this.

I must go...


	2. Chapter 1

Rae is (c) ME. Steal her and you will die.  
Kaori and Mac are (c) Leyca  
Kai is (c Jenny  
"X" is (c) Haley  
Jae is (c) Jessie

All Fullmetal Alchemist characters in this fic belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

* * *

"Big sister! Big sister, wake up!" Said Chiyochan as she shook her older sister.

Urg... Why did I even want to join the military as a state alchemist! I have to wake up so fucking early for training... I'm only 13! Damn school...

"Kaori!" Chiyochan yelled, still shaking her sister. "Kaori, Rae is here to walk to school with you!"

Kaori sat up in her bed. "Already! Dang, Rae must be excited... She always gets so hyper before school..." Kaori stood up and stretched, then looked over at her dresser, where a military jacket and a miniskirt were lying.

Damn miniskirts... This new principal is a total jackass, making the girls wear something so... Whoreish!

Kaori sighed and put on her uniform, then put on her knee-high boots and her gloves, which had transmutation circles on them.

Kaori walked out of her room and was immediately glomped by a girl around the age of 12. She looked at the girl, and was shocked by her new hairstyle.

"Rae! What did you do?" Kaori asked, scared. She then glared at her friend and said, "Get. Off. Of. Me."

Rae smiled and stood up. "Don't you like it?" Her hair was all blonde, which was tied up in a ponytail. Two locks of hair were placed in front of her face, though, and it looked like she had died them fully black and dipped the tips in red dye.

"Will you stop staring at my hair and come with me already?" Rae said, fixing the strap on her new book bag.  
Kaori smiled and picked her backpack up off the floor. "Let's go!"

The two walked out of the house and down the street. The girls then saw two boys in their school's uniform, so they walked towards them.

"Hey, Ed, who are those girls?" The taller boy asked, nudging his head towards Kaori and Rae.  
"How the hell should I know, Al?" Ed asked. He quickly looked back at the girls, and noticed their uniforms.

Rae saw Ed looking back at her, so she walked up to him. "Hello! I noticed you're wearing the Cedarcrest uniform..."  
"Yeah. You go there too?" Ed asked.  
"Yup! Oh, I almost forgot..." Rae said taking off her right glove, afraid her transmutation circle on it might harm him. She then held out that hand. "I'm Rae. This is Kaori." She nudged back to her friend.

Kaori gave a small wave and smiled. "Hello." She held out her hand to Al. "And you are...?"  
Al shook Kaori's hand. "I'm Al. Nice to meet you. This is my brother, Ed."  
"Oh, you mean the midget? How old are you, shorty?" Rae asked, smiling evilly.  
"I'M NOT SHORT!" Ed yelled. Al had to restrain him from attacking Rae for that comment. He then calmed down. "I'm 14."

Kaori laughed. She seemed to like Ed's temper. Then she heard one thing that pissed her off: "At least I'm not as short as Kaori..." She glared at Ed, who was glaring back at her, but he was smiling a little.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A RUNT SO SMALL THAT--" Kaori started to yell, but was stopped by Rae putting her hand over her friend's mouth.  
"Seems like you two have two things in common..." Rae sighed and took her hand off Kaori's mouth.

The four then walked to school, but Rae stopped as soon as she saw a figure on the steps to the school.

"Brigadier General." She clenched her fists and started marching up to him.  
"Rae, no!" Kaori yelled, grabbing her friend by the shoulders. "He's the principal!"

Rae froze in place. "Fuck. No. PRINCIPAL!" She clapped her hands together and turned her left arm into a blade, ripping her glove. She coughed, and a little bit of blood came up. She wiped the blood off her glove and whispered, "Every time I don't use a circle, this happens..."

Ed stared at Rae's arm. "Automail..."  
Rae looked back at him and smiled. "Yup... Let's just say there's a huge reason why I'm the 'Brokenhearted Alchemist'."

Ed didn't ask why she's called that, and just kept quiet. He barely knew her, so he felt it was rude to step into a person's life like that.

"Bringing a weapon to school on the first day, Rae?" A familiar voice asked.  
"Oh, hey, Danielle. You scared me for a second there!" Rae said, giving a small wave to Danielle. "Oh, the two guys with us are Ed and Al."

Ed looked up at Danielle. "Damn... You're so much taller than me!"  
Danielle laughed and said, "Yeah. Well, see you guys later!" She walked up the steps and into the school.

Rae patted Ed on the shoulder, and immediately stopped. She felt a metal limb underneath his military jacket.

"Ed... You did it too, didn't you?" Rae looked down, as if she was afraid of something.  
"Yeah..." Ed walked away, but was stopped by the man Rae was complaining about earlier: the principal.

"Brother, wait!" Al said running up to Ed. Kaori and Rae quickly followed him.

It had seemed Roy had only stopped Ed to chat for a moment, but Ed didn't care. 

"See you later, principal Mustang. Hey, Al, Rae, _midget_, you coming?" He asked.  
"How dare you call me short?" Kaori yelled while she ran up to Ed and punched him in the face.

"So? You deserve it for calling me short earlier!" Ed said while trying to kick Kaori.  
"Well, can you at least _try_ and hit me? Oh, wait, I'm too fast for the shrimp." She replied, a taunting smirk on her face.

Roy looked over at Rae. "Calm her down before she put Ed in the hospital."  
Rae looked back at him. "How? She's _your_ sister!"  
Roy sighed. "I have scars from the last time. I don't want to try again..."

"You are just like Roy, aren't you, Kaori?" Ed said.  
"Oh crap!" Roy said, plugging his ears and backing away from the group.

"DON'T YOU EVER COMPARE ME TO MY BROTHER; WE ARE NOTHING LIKE EACH OTHER!" Kaori screamed. She clapped her hands and used the transmutation circles on her gloves to create a ball of dark light. She then threw the ball at Ed.

"Crap!" Ed yelled, diving to the ground. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Roy interrupted by snapping his fingers and sending flames at Kaori. She easily dodged it.

"Crap, I have no idea what I'm doing..." Roy said, sighing. "Kaori, do you want a fight? I'll give you a fight!"

Roy then snapped his fingers, and Kaori dove down, just barely avoiding the flames. She clapped her hands and sent a ball of dark light at Roy.

Roy took a small step to the right, avoiding the dark light. "Do you think you can defeat me with that kind of alchemy?" He asked, laughing.

"No. But how about this?" A voice said.

A clap was heard and then a blast of water shot at Roy. There was too much water to avoid, so Roy did nothing to evade it. A few seconds later, there Roy stood, uniform drenched. "What the? My alchemy's useless now!"

Al looked over at Rae. "Did you do that?" He asked.  
Rae nodded. She smirked and began to laugh.

"I defeated Roy! I defeated Roy!" She said this over and over again in a singsong voice.

Roy stood up, muttering curses under his breath. He began to say, "Armor, Dark Light, Fullmetal, BrokenHearted!"

The four teens gulped. Roy then took a deep breath and yelled, "GET TO YOUR CLASSES!"

Rae picked up her book bag and walked up the steps to the school. Kaori, Ed and Al followed her.

Rae looked back at her friends. "So, what're your first few classes?"  
Kaori thought for a second. "I have block class with Havoc."  
Ed and Al looked surprised. They both said, "Me too!" At the same time.  
Rae smiled. "Hooray! I guess we all have at least two classes together then."  
Ed smirked. "I have to warn you, Sex-Ed class is disgusting; and so is Flirting 101. I had to take them last year. Let's just say Roy comes in to class when we're watching the videos."  
Rae dropped her book bag in shock. "That is so gross!" She shuddered and then picked up her book bag again. "Yuck."

The four walked down the hallways to each of their lockers. They got back together after dropping off their book bags, but Kaori heard a familiar voice call her name, so she walked a little bit away from the group.

"There you are, Kaori!" A boy around the age of 13 said.  
"Hey Mac! What do you want?" Kaori asked, smiling.  
"The higher-ups want you in Central by tomorrow." Mac said, handing Kaori a letter. "Be sure to show it to Rae, too, they want her in Central too."

Kaori opened the letter and read it aloud:

_"Dear Colonel, _

Did you forget about your promotion? Well, your rank is up to Brigadier General now. Make sure to tell Roy.

Signed, King Bradley

P.S., This gets you and your friends out of school for a week (5 friends for both you and Rae) and be sure to bring Roy!"

"Can I come? I heard there are snow-capped mountains around there! I could probably snowboard there." Mac said.  
"Okay, you can come, but I'm going to ditch the promotion party and snowboard too." Kaori said.  
Mac nodded. "That's fine with me!"

Ed watched the two talking. He frowned jealously and thought, _What the hell is that guy saying? He better not be messing around with Kaori..._ He watched Mac walk away, smiling.

Kaori walked back over to Rae, Ed, and Al. Rae cocked her head to the side and asked, "What the hell was that about, Kaori?"

Kaori blushed a little. "Oh, nothing. Read this, okay?" She then handed Rae the letter.

Ed frowned again and thought, _IS KAORI BLUSHING?_ He yelled those words inside his head over and over again until he was pulled out of his thoughts by Rae and Kaori talking again.

"You're sure it's nothing, right?" Rae said, folding up the read letter and handed it back to Kaori.  
"Yuppers!" Kaori nodded and smiled.

Ed fell over, and Rae looked down on him. "You are such an idiot."  
Kaori poked Rae. "What's wrong with the shrimp?" She asked.  
Ed glared at Kaori. "Well, at least I'm not standing at four feet, ten inches..."  
Kaori glared back at him. "Do you want to start something'?" She asked, putting back on her special gloves.  
"Hell yeah!" Ed yelled, standing up again.

The first set of punches were dealt by Ed; none of them hitting Kaori.

Kaori was just about to clap, but she felt a teacher laid their hand on her shoulder.

"Do you really want me to tell this to your big brother?" Havoc asked.  
"NO!" Kaori yelled. "Don't tell him!"  
"Then, behave today and try not to get mad at people when they say you are s-h-o-r-t." Havoc said, then looked at Ed. "That goes for you, too, Ed."

Havoc then leaned over and whispered to Kaori, "If you behave I'll pair you up with someone different than the Fullmetal pipsqueak; maybe I'll pair you up with one of your snowboarder friends."  
"Okay, I will behave and not get mad when people call me short." Kaori said, happily.

"What the hell did you do to my best friend? She's not smiling like Mustang's evil smirk!" Rae shouted.  
"I just bribed her, that's all." Havoc said, smiling.

"Did Kaori just take a bribe?" Al asked, shocked.  
"Yes! Get the counselor! Kaori went crazy!" Rae shouted.

"Anyone need me?" Hughes asked, walking over.  
"Yes! Kaori took a bribe from Havoc! Also, she is smiling _nicely_, and not smirking evilly like Roy!" Rae yelled. "She went crazy!"  
"Wait, what?" Hughes turned to Kaori and started shaking her. "Are you okay in the head?" He yelled.

"What are you doing to my little sister, Hughes?" Roy asked, walking down the hall.  
"YOUR LITTLE SISTER?" Ed yelled.  
"Yes, my little sister, got a problem with it, Fullmetal?" Roy asked, stopping in front of Kaori.

_Little sister...?_ Ed asked, in his head.

Kaori punched Roy in the stomach. "Shut up, Roy."

Roy looked angry with her, and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the class bell.

"Let's get outta here, come on!" Rae said, pulling on Kaori's jacket sleeve.

Rae, Ed, Al, and Kaori walked off to their first class, Sex-Ed, which was taught by Havoc and Greed.

* * *

Thanks for reading chapter one! - Leave a review, please! 


	3. Chapter 2

Rae is (c) ME. Steal her and you will die.  
Kaori and Mac are (c) Leyca  
Kai is (c Jenny  
"X" is (c) Haley  
Jae is (c) Jessie

All Fullmetal Alchemist characters in this fic belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

* * *

"Kai!" Rae and Kaori yelled, walking into their classroom.  
"Who's Kai?" Ed and Al asked. 

A girl with long bright green hair up in two baos walked over to the group. "I'm Kai." She said, pointing to herself.

Another girl walked over to the group. This one had long, bright blue hair, which was tied in a ponytail; and she also had blue fox ears and two fox tails.

"X!" Rae yelled, glomping the fox-girl, knocking her down.  
"Hey Rae." X said, sighing. She then pushed Rae off of her and stood back up.

"Hey, who's that guy with the x on his face?" A student shouted.  
"What guy?" Rae, Kai, X, and Kaori asked. The four girls then looked over at an Ishbalan standing right in the classroom.

"Is that Scar?" Havoc asked.  
"Oh, _fuck_." Rae said, color draining from her face. "I say that's Scar, so let's get the hell out of here!"  
"Everyone," Havoc and Greed shouted, "get out of the classroom!"

"Cover your eyes!" Kaori yelled. She then clapped her hands and created a light bomb.

The bomb exploded before Kaori could close her eyes, making her temporarily blind.

_Run! Run! Run to Roy's office; God damn it!_ Kaori thought, running in the direction of Roy's office.

"Roy!" Kaori says, inside his office.

There was no response, so Kaori ran out of the office door.

_Run! Run! God damn it; where's Roy?_ Kaori thought, running outside.

Kaori, still running, turned the hall and ran down the stairs. She then lost her footing and tripped, falling to the bottom of the staircase. Roy, seeing her, ran to Kaori's side. Hughes and Havoc followed.

"Hey, you okay?" Roy asked.  
"Where are you?" Kaori asked, looking around.

Hughes stood next to Roy. "Hey, Kaori. Can you see my face?"  
"No…" She said, still looking around.

Ed laughed as he walked over. "The midget's blind?" He then laughed some more.

Rae, glaring, slapped Ed in the back of his head. "That's not nice, you bastard!"  
"Yeah, brother! I mean what if I laughed if you went blind?" Al asked, crossing his arms.

Kaori groaned. "God, this sucks! I can't see!"  
"Well, why didn't you cover your eyes?" Havoc asked.  
"There was a chance I could've thrown the bomb at _you_!" Kaori said, still groaning.

"Well, I think…" Ed started to say, but was interrupted.  
"Shut up." Kaori said.

"Hey, is Scar still inside?" Kai asked, looking up the staircase.

Roy put his hand over his face. "Damn. I forgot about him!"

Gunshots were heard upstairs. Rae looked outside, and saw that two windows were shattered, which landed on the pavement outside, making a loud crash.

"Holy. Hell." Rae said, still staring outside.

"Uh, Roy? Where's Hawkeye? I have a feeling that was her shooting." Kaori said, looking around.  
"Uh…" Roy said. "See you guys later." He then walked upstairs to go find Hawkeye.

Everyone then walked off, too, leaving Kaori behind.

"Damn it! I can't see… Where did everyone go?" Kaori wondered aloud.

Upstairs, Havoc looked around at the group of students with him. "Hey, where's Kaori?"  
"Fuck. We left her." Rae said, sighing loudly.

Kaori walked outside and continued walking. She then felt a hand on her back and set off running for her life.

Damn it! Who was that? She thought, running as fast as she could.

Upstairs, Ed met up with Roy. Mac and Danielle also met up with the group.

"Uh, Roy, we can't find Kaori…" Ed said, looking down at the floor.  
"_WHAT_!" Roy screamed.

A loud 'BOOM' was heard outside. Short after was a very long silence. Rae then looked outside.

"What the _fuck_ was that!" She said, still looking out the window.

Kaori slumped to the ground, thinking about what just happened. She was running, and running and then… She crashed into the tree in front of her, leaving a huge dent. Kaori then blacked out.

"What was that?" Havoc asked.  
"The midget?" Ed asked, laughing a bit.

"Fullmetal, Brokenhearted, Armor, Storm, Knives, and Danielle; please, go find Kaori. With her running around blind, no one knows what might happen." Roy said, looking at the group of students.  
"Why? Can't we just leave her there?" Ed asked, whining a bit.  
Roy slipped on his gloves. "What did you say, Fullmetal?"  
"Nothing." Ed said, eyes widening.

"So, what're you waiting for? Go, NOW!" Roy yelled, pointing to the hallway where the staircase was located.

Less than 10 minutes later, the group of students entered the forest.

"How far do you think she ran?" Ed asked, careful not to trip over any fallen branches.  
"Well, knowing Kaori, she probably ran at least seven miles!" Rae said, laughing. "This may be awhile."

Al looked around the forest, trying to find Kaori. "Why did she even run?"  
Rae laughed, looking around too. "Probably because of her weird reflexes. When we were younger, I'd sneak up on her and scare her. Man, she would run until she collapsed."

"We—WAH!" Ed yelled, tripping over something bright purple.  
"I think we found her." Mac said, pointing to Kaori, slumped on the ground. He poked her, making her bright purple hair move out of place.  
Danielle laughed. "You should pay attention, Ed!"  
"Oh yeah, you're a tall freak!" Ed yelled.  
"Half-pint bean sprout midget!" Mac said, getting in Ed's face.

Ed growled loudly. Rae and Al backed away when they noticed that Ed's face was starting to turn red. Ed took a deep breath and yelled, "WHY'RE ALL THE TALL PEOPLE PICKING ON ME!"  
"Ow…" Kaori moaned, face in the dirt.  
"Yay!" Kai yelled, jumping up and down.

Al walked closer to Kaori. "Why did you run?" He asked.  
"Someone put their hand on my back and didn't say a word. I thought it was Scar…" Kaori replied, still lying in the dirt.

Ed slowly back away. Rae looked at him confusedly, but shrugged and continued to pay attention to Kaori. Ed then ran out of the forest for his life.

_Run away! Run away!_ He yelled inside his head as he ran faster.

Kaori sat up. "Why's he running?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.  
Mac shrugged. "No clue. Need a hand?"

Mac then held out his hand and Kaori took it, and then stood up.

"Should we go get him?" Kaori asked, rubbing the dirt off of her military jacket.  
"Nah. Let's make him keep running'." Rae said, crossing her arms and watching Ed run.

Later, the students walked Kaori to the health room, but then left her there with Havoc.

"Well, I guess you're going to be getting stitches." Havoc said, looking at Kaori's face.  
"Oh, shit…" Kaori said.

Roy then walked in, and when he saw Kaori, he screamed. "HOLY CRAP!"  
"What?" Kaori asked.  
"How the hell did you get that huge cut?" Roy asked, pointing to Kaori's face.  
"What? You mean this?" Kaori asked, pointing to her forehead.  
"Yes, you dipwad!" Roy said, angrily.  
"That's not nice!" Kaori said, crossing her arms.  
"Since when was I ever nice?" Roy replied.  
"Um… When I was three years old?" Kaori said.  
"I don't remember anything that I did for you when you were three." Roy said with a blank stare.  
"You're stupid. You don't remember when you would finger paint with me?" Kaori said, smirking.

Roy didn't respond.

"Not even when I dropped the paint on you?" Kaori asked.  
"Nope." Roy replied.

The third period class bell rang. Kaori stood up and stretched, then walked out of the health room and into the hall. Rae and Kai walked over to her.

"Let's skip third period, okay?" Rae asked. "Having Havoc for gym is embarrassing."  
"Fine then." Kaori and Kai said together.

Later, Rae, Kaori, and Kai walked down the hall, way after the tardy bell rang.

"Um, Kaori? What are you going to do with those cuts? The promotion ceremony is tomorrow." Kai asked.  
"Oh my fucking God!" Kaori yelled. "What am I going to do about it?"  
"You could get a hat and a new hairdo, that's what you do!" Rae said, laughing.

Neither Kai nor Kaori laughed, so Rae's laughs faded out a little. Rae then looked down at the floor and continued walking.

"So… Do you guys want to go to the chemistry lab?" Kaori asked.  
"Sure! Maybe we can study the Crimson Elixir." Kai said, smirking evilly.  
"Let's go then!" Rae said excitedly.

Kaori looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought. "Maybe we can make it small," she shuddered at the word. "So that in can fit in either a ring or a necklace."  
"Yay!" Kai yelled.

A voice was heard nearby.

"Oh shit!" Rae whispered. "Hall monitor… I hate 'em."  
Kai looked at Rae. "Do you have a plan?"  
Rae thought, and then smirked evilly. "You bet your bottom dollar I do!"

Rae then walked down the hall, and crossed her arms as she came face-to-face with Wrath.

"Hey, Wrathums!" Rae said, winking.  
"Where's your hall pass?" Wrath said, crossing his arms.  
"Oh, it's right in my jacket." Rae said, unbuttoning her jacket enough to let her chest pop out of her jacket.

Around the corner, Kai and Kaori watched. Kaori sighed heavily. "Not the stripping plan!"

"Wrath…" Rae said, taking off her jacket. She then kissed the hall monitor on the neck. "Why don't you let me walk around the hall for awhile," She kissed his neck again, "and not write me up, okay?"

Wrath blushed heavily. "G... Go ahead…"  
Rae picked up her jacket off the ground. "Thanks, Wrathums." She then kissed him on the neck again.

Wrath walked off, still blushing heavily.

"That's it. I've been hanging around Lust too much. Come on, guys!" She called to her friends around the corner.

Kaori and Kai ran up to her, faces paleish-green.

"Girl, that was disgusting." Kai said, ready to puke.  
"I know. But hey, it got us through, right?" Rae said, smiling.  
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Kaori said, grabbing her friend's wrists and running down the hall to another staircase.

The three girls then stepped as fast as they could down the stairs, and walked into the chemistry lab.

* * *

Thanks for reading chapter 2! Leave a review or feel the wrath of my spork! >8D 


	4. Chapter 3

Rae is (c) ME. Steal her and you will die.  
Kaori and Mac are (c) Leyca  
Kai is (c Jenny  
"X" is (c) Haley  
Jae is (c) Jessie

All Fullmetal Alchemist characters in this fic belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

* * *

"Rae, did you _have_ to do that?" Kai asked, sighing.  
"Uh, yes?" Rae replied, sweat dropping. 

Havoc looked down at his attendance sheet. "Okay, everyone is here except for... Rae, Kaori, and Kai... Wait, they _were_ here. Roy is going to be pissed. Ed," Havoc looked over at Ed, "go find them!"

"Um... How do we start? Don't we have to use humans to make the Crimson Elixir?" Kaori asked.  
"Don't ask me! I'm failing chemistry!" Kai said.  
Rae smirked. "You're lucky I researched this during the Summer. I know another way. Just follow my lead, okay, guys?"  
"Okay." Kai and Kaori said, nodding once.

Rae smirked. "Geez, these teachers are so dumb! They don't realize that they're keeping all of the right chemicals for the Stone..." Rae then started mixing two clear chemicals. "Right inside a school!"

The three girls continued to mix the chemicals. They then jumped, surprised. Ed had kicked down the door.

"HELLO!" He yelled.

Kaori glared at him. She was so angry that she dropped her flask of explosive chemicals.

"ED! YOU BASTARD!" Rae yelled.  
"I swear, I'm going to--" Kaori said, but was interrupted by the chemicals exploding.

The explosion had knocked out Rae, Kai, and Kaori.

"Brother? What happened?" Al said, in the doorway.  
Mac stood next to Al. "What the hell happened!"  
Ed sweatdropped. "Nothing happened!"

Al walked over to Rae and knelt down by her. "You're lying. Why is Rae unconscious?" Al asked, worried.  
Ed paused. "They were working with some explosive chemicals, and I busted in, making Kaori drop her flask." Ed sighed. "It's not that bad!"

Mac walked over to Kaori and knelt down by her, stroking her bright purple hair. "Think about this: if Roy were to come here now, what would he do?"  
"Damn it!" Ed cursed. "We need to get them out of here before Roy comes!"  
"Fine. But how?" Mac asked.

Ed thought for a moment. "We pick them up, and stuff them into a closet." Ed smirked evilly.  
Al sighed. "That last part was mean, brother."  
"Fine, we'll just carry them to the... Health room?" Ed suggested.  
Al smiled. "Okay. But there's one problem: How're we going to carry them?" He asked.

Havoc then walked in. "What the hell happened!" He asked, shocked.  
"I didn't do anything." Mac stated.  
"Me neither! It was all Ed's fault!" Al said.  
"Who cares? Let's get them out of here before Roy sees Kaori; he'll fry us all!" Havoc exclaimed.

Mac then picked up Kaori, bridal style. Al did the same thing with Rae. Ed tried to pick up Kai, but failed. Havoc walked over and picked up Kai and carried her on his back.

In the health room, Rae and Kai woke up.

Rae yawned and stretched. "I guess Kaori hasn't woken up yet..."  
Kai sat up. "Oh well, let's just leave her."  
"Oh crap!" Rae screamed, pointing to Kaori.  
"Huh? What is it?" Kai asked, oblivious to Rae pointing to Kaori.  
"They had to cut her hair because the elixir got stuck in it." Rae said, then gulped loudly. "First, Kaori's going to kill Ed, and then anyone who gets in her way."  
"Is this when she's 'angry'?" Kai asked.  
"No, that's just barely pissed." Rae stated.  
"The school's going to go BOOM!" Kai yelled. "Isn't it?"

Rae nodded. "Get your battle helmet. This school's going to blow up."

Rae and Kaori then stood up and walked out of the health room, leaving Kaori alone until she woke up.

Kaori woke up about twenty minutes later, and she rubbed her head. "Ow... What hap-- WHY IS MY HAIR CUT!" Kaori yelled. "...EDWARD ELRIC! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE, NOW!" She yelled this so loudly, her voice echoed through that halls, down the stairs, and into the gym, where Ed was.

Kaori's voice echoed inside the big gym. The whole class was silent.

"Ed... You might want to hide from her. She sounds just a bit pissed." Havoc said.

Roy walked into the gym and stood in the doorway. "No, actually, he can't. Kaori won't calm down until she beats Ed into a pulp." He said, smirking. "Good luck, Fullmetal."  
"Mr. Mustang, what is he supposed to do?" Danielle asked.  
"I really don't know." Mustang said, shrugging. "On a scale of one to ten for anger, I'd say she was about at a three or so."

Al stared at Roy in shock. "Th... this is only thirty percent of her anger?" He asked.  
Rae looked over at Al. "Yup. I've seen her fully mad before. She sent me to the hospital with a fractured jaw and a broken nose. If I didn't fight back, I would've been dead." She then adjusted her glasses and shuddered. "It was fricken' scary!"

Kaori's voice was heard in the hallway leading to the gym. Her stomps echoed in the hallway. Rae took the chance and hid behind Al, smiling a little. "She'll hurt anyone in her way; protect me."  
Al blushed. "Sure."

"EDWARD ELRIC! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE NOW!" Kaori yelled, stomping to the gym. She stood in the doorway next to Roy. Her face was dark red, and her eyes were glaring at Ed so hard they were slits. Kaori growled and charged toward Ed. Ed set off running outside.

"Yes! I made it out alive!" Ed yelled.  
"What do you mean _alive_?" Kaori asked, glaring at Ed.  
"Uh..." Ed said, eyes wide.

The students both upstairs and downstairs watched the fight from the school windows. Kaori's voice was just loud enough to get the whole school's attention.

Rae ran to a nearby window and opened it. "GO KAORI!" She yelled. "WHOOP HIS ASS _TWICE_ AS HARD FOR ME!"  
Kai ran over to the window. "Oh, me too!" She yelled, smiling evilly.

Kaori was so furious with Ed, she unleashed a new type of alchemy in her. She clapped her hands and sent a ball of dark fire at Ed.

Ed did a back flip to evade the ball of dark fire. "Midget, calm down!"  
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!" Kaori screamed. She clapped her hands and made her hands and fingers look like a gun, and she shot large balls of dark light from her fingertips.

"Die, you bastard!" Kaori yelled, shooting more dark light at Ed.

Rae snickered, watching the fight. "Hey, Kai, I think Al's going to be an only child in less than an hour."  
Kai laughed. "I agree! Ed is _toast_!"

Rae and Kai then high-fived each other and continued to watch the fight.

"ED! I HATE YOU!" Kaori yelled, sending multiple blasts of dark light at Ed.  
"Gah!" Ed groaned, doing more flips to evade the blasts. "Don't... You... Ever get tired!" He asked, breathing heavily.  
"I'LL NEVER GET TIRED!" Kaori yelled. "NOT UNTIL YOU'RE DEAD!"

Rae found a bunch of spare metal by the window, so she clapped her hands and transmuted a trumpet out of it. She coughed hard, and some blood came out. She shook the blood off of her hand and onto the floor. Rae then opened the window again and stuck the bell of the trumpet our the window and played "Taps" on it.

The whole school went silent. Kaori then caught Ed of guard and sent a huge ball of dark light at him, sending him back at least 20 feet.

Rae finished her song. She lowered the trumpet and began to laugh. "Glad I could help you, buddy!" She yelled out the window to Kaori.

Kaori walked back into the gym, smiling evilly like she always does. "Well, that felt good."

Kaori met back up with Rae and Kai. Rae smirked. "Nice show. The whole school saw!"  
Kaori smiled evilly. "Great. That means more people to laugh at Ed when he comes to!"  
Kai laughed. "Hooray!"

Rae then frowned. "We have to get to Central by tomorrow, Kaori. Who're we gonna bring?"

Kai coughed loudly, and then smiled at Rae and Kaori.

Ignoring Kai, Kaori spoke. "We're going to bring Mac, Al, Kai, Danielle, Roy, and maybe some other people." She said, looking at a very happy Kai.

The last bell then rang, and they each said goodbye. The three girls then split up to go to their lockers.

_Okay, I need to buy a nice dress and some new snowboarding equipment..._ Kaori said, walking out of the school, carrying her bags.

"Hi, Kaori!" A voice called.  
"Oh... Hi, Mac." Kaori replied.  
"Where're you going?" He asked, walking over.  
"To the snowboard equipment shop, and the dress shop." Kaori said, sighing.

Mac sighed. He then looked up and saw a student run by Kaori, quickly stealing her bags.

"Hey, you brat, come back here!" Kaori yelled.

Mac and Kaori then started running, chasing after the brat.

Rae and Al saw Kaori and Mac run past them in a flash. Rae stopped, and let her hair fall back to it's original place. She stared at where Kaori and Mac once were, and blinked. "What the fuck!" Rae and Al then ran after Kaori and Mac.

Kaori stopped and took off her boot. She then threw it at the person who stole her bags and hit him right in the back of the head. "You little fucker!" She yelled, walking over to the fallen student.

The purse-snatcher then slapped Kaori.

Al looked at Kaori's face, getting redder and redder by the second. "Bad idea," He said, sighing.

Roy then ran over to the teens. "There's a war going on, go get your weapons, NOW! I need you guys in the front. The war is going on in the football field back at the school." Roy then ran off.

Al, Rae, Kaori, and Mac then ran back to the school, and Rae looked behind the building, over at the war. "Holy. Crap... This is gonna be bad."

Rae then clapped her hands and used the nearby bike rack to transmutetwo large guns for Mac and Al. She clapped her hands again and turned her left arm into a blade. Rae then fell to the ground, coughing up massive amounts of blood. Al knelt down next to her.

"You can't fight like this, Rae." He said, wrapping his arm around her. "You really shouldn't."  
Rae looked down. "I won't die..." There was a long pause. "...I'm a homunculus." She then sighed. "Don't worry about me, please."

Al, Mac, and Kaori looked at Rae in shock. "Why didn't you tell us?" They asked.  
Rae was still looking down at the ground. "Because I didn't know what would happen if my secret got out... Let's go," Rae said, standing up, "and fight for our school; our military!"

"Let's go!" Rae said, then ran to the football field, unafraid of anything that might happen. Al, Kaori, and Mac followed closely behind.

* * *

- I hope you liked this chapter! Leave a review, please! 


	5. Chapter 4

Rae is (c) ME. Steal her and you will die.  
Kaori and Mac are (c) Leyca  
Kai is (c Jenny  
"X" is (c) Haley  
Jae is (c) Jessie

All Fullmetal Alchemist characters in this fic belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

* * *

The group had split up to cover more ground. 

Kaori continued to walk. "Oh man, does this place look bad." She said to herself.

_Why does my head hurt?_ Kaori asked in her mind. She looked around and turned back to go find Rae and the others. She then gasped in pain. somebody has stabbed her in her left shoulder.

"Who are you?" Kaori asked, not looking back. She then drew a transmutation circle with her blood, then touched the circle. A flash of purple light then shot up, like some sort of flare.

Rae looked over at the flash of purple. "Kaori's in troub--" her eyes then widened as a bullet went through her shoulder. She turned around and glared at an Ishbalan.

Rae then ran up to the Ishbalan and slashed at his neck, but he moved just in time to evade it.

He shot at Rae multiple times, and hit her in the chest every time. Rae fell to the ground. Then Ishbalan then walked away.

Rae quickly got back to her feet and shoved her automail blade into the Ishbalan's back. She pushed just a little bit harder, and felt the blade go through his stomach and come out of the other side of his body.

Rae's eyes flashed purple. She smirked evilly and walked off.

"I have no name..." Kaori's attacker said. "But I knew your real parents. Your real brother isn't Roy."  
"Yes he is." Kaori said, uncertain about this.  
"No, he's not. You have refined Red Water mixed in your blood. You are what people call an 'Alchemic Tool'; not a real person." He said, smirking evilly.  
"I am a real person!" Kaori said, tears falling down.  
"Ask Roy." The attacker said. He then shoved a knife into Kaori's leg. "You'll die if you use too much alchemy."

Kaori fainted and fell to the ground.

In the tents, Roy, Riza, Havoc, Hughes, and Armstrong were talking.

"Sir, what was that flash of light that I saw earlier?" Riza asked.  
"Probably Kaori. Was it purple?" Roy asked.  
"Yes it was." Riza stated.  
"Then it was her." Roy said calmly.  
"Should we go find her?" Havoc and Hughes asked, standing up.

Armstrong then stood up. "Let ME! The ability to find people has been passed down the Armstrong line for GENERATIONS!" He bellowed.  
Roy sighed. "Fine, go ahead, Major."

Al heard footsteps approaching him, so he turned around. He saw Rae and gave a small wave. "Rae!" He called out to her.

Rae ran over, still dripping blood. Her eyes were a deep purple now, and something in Al sensed that she wasn't the same.

Al then strapped his gun to his back. "Rae, is everything okay?"  
Rae nodded. "Yes, my Al." She said, her was had changed quite a bit. "This was is making me want to kill; killing is my passion." Her purple eyes then glowed.

"Rae! Calm down!" All yelled. He then hugged Rae. "Just... Calm... Down..." He then kissed Rae softly on the lips.

Rae's eyes opened. Their bright blue color returned to them. "Al..." She said, crying softly, "My body is making me the homunculus I am. I can't fight it!"

Al looked into Rae's eyes. "Rae, as long as I'm alive; as long as we're together; you'll be able to fight back." Al said softly. "You have no reason to cry anymore. You have me."

A loud yell came from behind Al. Rae stepped behind him and was immediately hit in the chest by knives. Rae coughed up a bit of blood, but then pulled out one of the knives and licked it clean. She threw the knife back at the Ishbalan attacker, hitting him right in the head, with enough force to shatter his skull.

Another yell came out, but it was quickly stopped by the sound of gunshots coming from Al's gun. The Ishbalan girl fell to the ground, dead.

Al and Rae ran off, fighting back to anyone who tried to kill them. Rae was sure that she had to take any hits that could injure or even kill Al; but an Ishbalan soldier kept Rae busy for awhile. Rae looked back at Al when she finished fighting her enemy. A knife was already flying right at Al. She was too late.

"AL!" Rae screamed. She was so loud that Roy could hear her a mile away.

Al fell to the ground. Rae looked at his body. The blade of the killer's knife stuck out of his stomach. A tear slid down Rae's cheek. "Al..." She whispered.

Rae took the blade out of Al's body, making blood spill onto the ground. "You will be avenged, my Al... Rest in peace, my love." She whispered, and then kissed Al softly on the lips. "I will _kill_ all Ishbalans!" She yelled as her eyes permanently turned purple.

Kaori woke up as she heard a scream. "Oh my fucking God! What the fuck was that!" She asked.

She looked around. It seemed that she was inside the health tent.

"Yay!" Kai said as she glomped Kaori.  
"You know, I would _really_ like it if you would get off!" Kaori said angrily.  
"Okay!" Kai said while getting off of her friend.  
"Kai, we need to help Rae, something's wrong." Kaori said, her eyes changing to a really light purple. "Let's go!" She then put on her jacket.

Roy noticed that Kaori and Kai were walking out of the tent. "Hey, Kaori! Get back in here!" He said angrily.  
"No fucking way, Roy! I have to help Rae!" Kaori yelled back.  
"Me too!" Kai said.

_Why the fuck does my head still hurt?_ Kaori asked as she walked on.

Just then, a whole lot of Ishbalan's came. Kaori and Kai smirked. "Hey Kai," Kaori said, "you ready to make things go BOOM?"  
"Oh yeah!" Kai yelled. She then snapped her fingers and made a dark storm cloud appear. A lightning bolt then crashed down onto the Ishbalans.  
"My turn!" Kaori yelled, making an explosive ball of dark light.

OW! Kaori yelled in her head. _Why does my head hurt so much?_

Kaori nearly fell to the ground in pain, but her pride kept her up.

"Hey," Kai said, throwing some Ishbalans, "you okay?"  
"I'm fine, don't worry about me!" Kaori lied.

Danielle ran over, her uniform ripped a bit. "Hey, would you guys like some help?" She asked.  
"It'd be nice if you can." Kaori said.  
"Okay!" Danielle exclaimed excitedly.

The three girls then started killing every Ishbalan in their way, but Kaori slipped out of the group and ran off to fine Rae.

"Rae!" She called out. "Where are you!"

As Kaori went on looking for Rae, she ended up at the Spanaway Jr. High building.

"Wow..." She stared at the building in awe. "This place is pretty big..."

Rae walked though the SJH hallway. Her purple eyes glowed in the slight darkness.

"Hmph." She said, looking around. "It seems nobody's here." She then frowned. "Nobody to kill."

Kaori saw Rae up ahead. "Rae! Over here!" She called out.

Rae turned around. She then smirked evilly. "Hello Kaori." Her purple eyes then glowed as she charged towards Kaori. She sliced at her cheek with her automail blade, leaving an X-shaped cut.

"What the fuck Rae!" Kaori asked, breathing heavily. She didn't fight back. "I don't want to hurt you!"

Rae continued to slash at Kaori, making her bleed more. "I sense the Stone!" She yelled. "Where is it!"

Kaori froze. _The Stone... MY BLOOD!_ She yelled in her head.

Rae smirked and caught the chance. She slashed at Kaori's neck wildly.

Kaori screamed in pain. Blood ran down her neck, which quickly formed into Philosopher's Stones. A tear then slid down Rae's cheek.

"I can bring him back..." Rae whispered. She ran to the stones and stared at them. She stood up and slashed at Kaori some more.

"RAE!" Kaori cried out. "STOP IT!"

Rae's eyes turned blue once again. "Ka... Ori?" She asked, crying a little. She then fell to her knees. "I'm so sorry..."  
Kaori slowly knelt down next to Rae. "Why do you need the stone so badly?"

More tears fell from Rae's eyes. "He's... AL WAS KILLED!" She yelled, sobbing.  
Kaori froze. "No way..." She whispered.

Kaori hugged Rae tightly. "It's okay. We can revive him now, if you want." She suggested. The girls then stood up.

Rae's eyes widened and her voice changed. "I sense an Ishbalan..."

An Ishbalan girl around the age of 14 walked over. She was wearing a camouflage shirt and pants, and her hair was tied up. A small kitten rested on her shoulder. It looked as though the small animal had a fork strapped to its back.

The Ishbalan threw sharpened forks at Rae and Kaori. Kaori was knocked down by the weapons, and was pinned to the floor.

Rae has evaded the weapons in time. "Get out of here, you dirty Ishbalan!" She yelled. Her eyes then glowed, changing from blue to dark purple.

Kaori struggled to get free. "Rae! No!" She cried out.

Rae smirked evilly. "Die Ishbalan."

Rae then charged at the girl at full-speed. She slashed at the Ishbalan girl's neck, but she evaded the attack.

The girl grunted and threw forks at Rae, knocking her down and pinning her to the floor, too. "You killed most of my people." The girl said.  
Rae squirmed, trying to break free. "I need to avenge him!" She yelled. "I loved him, and your people killed him! You all must die!" Rae squirmed again.

The girl looked down on Rae. "Heartless jerk!" She then grabbed another fork and shoved it into Rae's neck, right where her vocal cords were. "Don't even speak like that!"

Rae screamed in pain. Kaori closed her eyes and gasped. "RAE!" She cried out.

Rae started coughing up blood. Her purple eyes changed to blue. "He--Help.." She croaked. Blood leaked down her neck as she coughed more.  
The girl then frowned, and her red eyes darkened sadly. "No. You killed most of my people. I watched you, slowly enjoying their deaths. Ishbala will not forgive you for your sins." Her cat hissed at Rae.

Rae's eyes remained blue. "It's... Not my fault!" She croaked softly. "My body is taking over..." Rae then coughed so hard that the fork flew out of her neck.

The Ishbalan's eyes widened. "What the hell is up with you!" She asked, taking a step back.  
"I'm a homunculus; I'm not human. Whenever my eyes are purple, I'm not like myself." Rae explained. "You have to believe me!"

The girl sighed. "I guess I'll have to. But I cannot forgive you for killing my people." She said as her cat hissed once more.  
Rae sighed too. "I knew you wouldn't." She then coughed up more blood. "I didn't expect you to. I just..." She sighed. "I just have to avenge the one I love."

"Is this what he would've wanted? Is it? You tell me." The girl said, her eyes dark.

Rae took a moment to think. A tear then slid down her cheek. "No. He wouldn't have wanted this. But this is a war--"  
The girl interrupted. "So we have to kill. I know, I hate the idea."

Rae looked surprised. "I was just about to say that. You and I think alike, don't we?"  
The Ishbalan smiled. "I guess so." She then took the forks out of the ground, unpinning Rae and Kaori. "I'm Jae." She said.

"Rae. Nice to meet you." She said, smiling.  
"And I'm Kaori." She said, grinning.

The three girls smiled. Jae then gave a small wave and ran off to the war at Cedarcrest.

Rae walked over to where Kaori was standing earlier. She then knelt down and picked up the many Philosopher's Stones on the ground and stood back up.

"I'm bringing him back." Rae announced.  
Kaori nodded. "I'd help you out, but I'm afraid that my body will be used as a Stone."

Rae nodded. "I understand." She then took out a piece of chalk and drew a human transmutation circle on the floor. She put the stones in the middle of the circle and smiled. "This'll work perfectly... Here goes nothing!" She yelled.

Rae then slammed her hands down onto the circle. A bright flash off yellow formed around her body and the circle.

Rae and Kaori closed their eyes tightly. The flash got brighter and brighter... And then it died down. Rae opened her eyes and screamed.

Al's body lie in the center of the circle. It was a perfect transmutation.

"AL!" Rae screamed happily. Tears flooded out of her eyes as she ran over to her beloved.

"Rae...?" Al asked. He was then hugged tightly by her.  
"Al..." Rae whispered. She then cried into his shoulder.

Kaori smiled. "Gr.. Great job, Rae." Her voice was breaking and tears threatened to flood out of her eyes.

Rae smiled and kissed Al on the lips as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Welcome back, my love." She said softly.

The next day, Rae, Mac, Al, and Kaori walked into the promotion party. Al and Mac were both wearing black tuxedos.

Rae smiled as she entered the party, wearing a dark blue dress. There was a slit on the left side of the dress, which went up to her knee and showed her black high-heels. She also wore silver gloves, which covered up parts of her automail. Her hair was tied up in a flipped bun, with her black and red bangs hanging over her face.

Kaori's face was expressionless as she walked in wearing her blue and purple kimono. Her hair was in a bun and she had her bangs dangle over her cheek, where Rae had cut her yesterday.

Everybody was staring at Rae and Kaori. The two girls heard people saying little things like "they look good", or "I love her dress, it's pretty."

"Hi!" Kai yelled, glomping Kaori.  
"Why can't you glomp Rae?" Kaori asked, clearly pissed off.  
"Sorry..." Kai said, getting off Kaori.

Kaori remembered that she was going to go snowboarding. "Um... I think I left something back at the Inn!" She said, glancing at Mac.  
"I left my pocket watch in my room... Again." Mac said, sighing.

Kaori and Mac walked into the Inn. Kaori smirked. "Did you really leave your pocket watch?"  
"Yup." Mac said, smiling.  
"You idiot." Kaori said, laughing.  
"So?" Mac smirked.

Mac and Kaori then walked to their separate rooms and got their snowboards and put on their snowboarding equipment.

Kaori put on her long-sleeved purple and white shirt that said "crazy doesn't even begin to describe me". She put on her snowboard pants and put her watch inside the pocket. She then pulled on her purple and black snowboarding boots and walked out of her room.

"No helmet?" Mac asked after Kaori walked out.  
"I don't like to use it." Kaori said, shrugging. "Do you have your pocket watch?"  
Mac laughed a little. "Yeah, I do."

Back at the party, Havoc looked around.

"Hmm... It doesn't take that long does it?" He asked.  
"It shouldn't." Ed said.  
"When did you get here?" Kai asked Ed.  
"About a half hour ago." Ed said, smirking.

_Hmm... I wonder where Kaori is..._ Ed thought.

Roy walked over. "Where's Kaori? They're going to give out the awards soon!"  
"We don't know." Ed, Al, Rae, and Kai said.

At the slope, Kaori and Mac made sure there wasn't anyone else there.

"This is going to be fun!" Kaori said.  
"Yup!" Mac exclaimed.

Mac and Kaori then started to snowboard. They were having a good time until they heard gunshots.

Kaori pulled her gun out and fired back.

"When did you bring that?" Mac asked.  
"There's a hidden gun in all of my outfits." Kaori said, looking at him.  
"Even your kimono?" Mac asked.  
"Yup." Kaori said, nodding.

Back at the party, Roy was starting to get pissed.

"Dammit!" Where's Kaori?" He asked.  
"Calm down!" Al said.

The group then hears gunshots from the slope nearby.

"What the fuck?" Ed asked.  
"Please, tell me that wasn't Kaori." Roy sighed, hand over his face.  
"Fine. It's not Kaori." Kai said, laughing.  
"Yes, it is." Rae said, smirking. "She has tons of hidden guns."  
"How come I didn't know that?" Roy asked.  
"You never asked!" Rae said, smiling.

Roy sighed. Rae kept smiling. She was oblivious to Roy's anger.

* * *

I hope you liked that chapter guys! Please, leave a review! 


	6. Chapter 5

Rae is (c) ME. Steal her and you will die.  
Kaori and Mac are (c) Leyca  
Kai is (c Jenny  
"X" is (c) Haley  
Jae is (c) Jessie

All Fullmetal Alchemist characters in this fic belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

* * *

"Why did Kaori leave?" Ed asked.  
"She left something back at the inn." Roy said.  
"Hmm... How do you know she just wasn't going to ditch us?" Ed asked. 

Al looked over. "Does Kaori always skip parties?" He asked.  
"Not _all_ the time." Rae said, smirking.

Back at the slope, Kaori and Mac kept snowboarding, Kaori still shooting into the woods.

"Dammit! Who is that?" Kaori asked.  
"I have no clue. All I know is, we have to get back to the party." Mac said.

Kaori continued to shoot at the mysterious person until her snowboard hit a rock, sending her flying into the snow. Kaori's eyes widened as she felt her ankle break under the pressure.

"Are you okay?" Mac asked, getting off of his snowboard and walking to Kaori's side.  
"Yeah..." Kaori lied.

The two quickly reached the bottom of the slope. Kaori's ankle felt worse after time passed.

"Holy shit!" Kaori yelled. A grenade has been thrown to her.

Without thinking, Kaori clapped her hands and created a small dome to incase the grenade.

_Wait... OH SHIT!_ She yelled in her head. _I don't want to die! Why did I use alchemy?_

Kaori felt woozy and tired as the grenade exploded in her hands. The dome she created protected her from the small explosion inside it. The alchemy had made her weak though, making her body feel like it was going to collapse.

_I've never felt this weak before..._ She thought. _No! I won't die... Not yet..._

Kaori fell to her knees as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She closed her eyes as she remembered something from when she was a child.

She saw herself crying, and being hit by her father.

"Never cry!" Her father yelled, slapping her. "Crying is for the weak."

When Kaori opened her eyes, Mac was staring at her. "You okay?" He asked.  
Kaori nodded. "Just fine." She lied. "Let's get going."

The two then walked (Kaori, in her condition, limped) to the inn.

"Oh shit!" Kaori yelled softly as she pulled Mac behind a bush with her.

"What?" Mac whispered.  
"I just saw Roy." Kaori replied.  
"So?" Mac asked.  
"I'm gonna have to listen to one of his lectures," Kaori said, sighing, "again.

Mac and Kaori then snuck around the inn and walked to their separate rooms and changed back into their formal clothes. They then snuck back into the party, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Where were you?" Kai asked.  
Kaori showed Kai her necklace. "I was just finding this."  
"And I was getting my watch." Mac said, laughing softly.

Roy then walked back to the party and ran over to Kaori. "Where were you!" He yelled.

Kaori growled angrily. "Look, Roy, I don't give a shit what you think, so stop nagging me about everything I do!" Kaori yelled back, getting into Roy's face.

Rae looked over at the fight and ran over. "Kaori! Roy! Calm down, please!" She then grabbed onto Kaori's body and wouldn't let go.

Roy glared at Kaori. "I know why you're such a great alchemist," he began, "it's because you're what we call an 'Alchemic Tool', not a real person. Your blood is mixed with the crimson elixir because your damn father made your mother a living Philosopher's Stone just before your birth."

Rae gasped. Kaori's body shook with both anger and sadness. Roy then continued to talk.

"I've never thought of you as my sister, Kaori, and I _never_ will!" He yelled.

Kaori shook hard enough to make Rae let go of her. "SHUT UP!" She yelled. She ran off, not even caring where she was going. All she knew was that she was crying uncontrollably.

"...No way. Kaori isn't a 'real' person?" Ed asked.  
"Yes she is!" Rae yelled, shaking angrily. "Don't ever say that about my best friend!" She then punched Ed as hard as she could with her automail hand.

Kai and Rae then set off after Kaori, Al and Mac following behind.

_Dammit... So all that guy said was true... Why? How... Did he know and how come!_ Kaori yelled inside her head, still running.

Kaori ran until she came across the train station.

_Maybe I can live with Kari..._ Kaori thought as she bought a train ticket.

"DAMN IT!" Rae yelled. "Why did Roy have to blurt that out?"  
"I don't know!" Kai said.

The two girls then stopped.

A worker at the train station ran up to Rae. "Excuse me, miss," he said, "but are you Rae?"  
"Yeah. Why?" Rae asked, cocking her head to the side and fixing her glasses.  
"A girl told me to give this to you." The worker said, handing Rae a bag. He then walked off.

"What is it?" Kai asked.

Rae opened the bag and looked inside it. She fell to her knees, shaking violently. "It's... The Crimson Elixir."

On the train, Kaori looked out the window, sighing heavily. _Next time I see Roy, I'm going to kill him._ She thought.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when a familiar voice rang in her ear:

"Can I sit here?"

Kaori looked over and saw Mac looking into her eyes. "Sure, whatever."

Mac sat next to Kaori. "Where are you going?" He asked.  
"To Kari's place." Kaori replied, looking out the window again.  
"Who's Kari?" Mac asked.  
"Roy's younger sister." Kaori said, saying Roy's name very rudely.  
"Don't you mean your sister?" Mac asked. "I mean Roy's your brother and al--  
"Look," Kaori interrupted, "that bastard Roy doesn't think of me as a sister." Kaori said, her voice shaking a bit.  
"Are you ever going back there?" Mac asked.  
"Maybe, I'm not sure... What's with all the questions?" Kaori asked, now looking at Mac.

Mac shrugged and laughed softly. "I just want to know stuff."

Mac then looked at Kaori's hand and gasped, picking it up. There were transmutations circles carved into them. "Why did you do this!" He asked worriedly.  
"That's always been there," she lied, "don't worry about it."  
"No, this is new, Kaori; I can tell." He said, taking Kaori's other hand and examining it.

Kaori groaned softly. "How can you even tell?"  
"Because if it were old, it wouldn't be so bloody." Mac replied, smirking.

When the train stopped, Kaori looked out the window and stood up. "This is where I'm getting off, are you coming?"  
"Yeah." Mac said, standing up, too.

When the two got off the train Kari walked up to them.

"Hello little sister. How did I know you'd be coming here?" Kari said, laughing softly.  
"Don't call me your sister." Kaori said, growling softly.  
"Why?" Kari asked, cocking her head to the side.  
"Because," Kaori began, "that bastard you call a brother says I'm not a part of your family; that I'm not a real person, I'm an 'Alchemic Tool.'"  
"Look, Kaori, I don't give a shit what Roy says; I still say you're my little sister." Kari said, smiling a bit.  
"Well, at least one person likes me." Kaori said softly.

"Do you guys want to stay at my place?" Kari asked, changing the subject.  
"Yes." Mac and Kaori said together.

The three of them then walked to Kari's house. When they arrived there, Kari showed them to their rooms and Mac and Kari went to sleep. Kaori stayed awake and waited until everyone was asleep.

Kaori walked out of the house and took a walk outside.

Rae and Kai walked back to the party.

"I'm confused." Kai said after a long silence.  
"Shut up!" Rae yelled, her voice shaking. "I'm so worried... The only way to extract the elixir... Is to cut up her body up."

Kai gasped. "You're not serious..." There was a short silence. "Are you...?"  
Rae sighed sadly. "I am. I was the one who slashed up Kaori during the war."

Kai gasped again. "So... That's what her scars were from..."

Rae nodded. She then closed her eyes just before two spikes erupted from the back of her hips, ripping her dress. She then opened her eyes, which were now a deep shade of purple. Two long, black tentacles then shot out of the back of her shoulders.

"I'm a Sin, Kai; I'm Passion." Rae said, her voice changed.  
Kai looked a Rae, a small smile on her lips. "That's okay!" Without thinking, she glomped Rae, making her spikes and tentacles smash into the ground.

Rae screamed in pain. Her body shook as she threw Kai off of her body. She stood up and dusted herself off as her tentacles and spikes shot back into her body. Her eyes reverted back to their normal blue color.

As Kaori walked around town, a mysterious man walked up to her.

"You're the Darklight Alchemist, the child combined with the Crimson Elixir, right?" He asked.  
"And what if I am?" Kaori asked, crossing her arms.  
"Well, I know how to separate the Elixir from your blood," the man said, "making you a 'real person.'"

Kaori wanted nothing more than to be accepted as a real person. She had never wanted to be an Alchemic Tool. She smirked. "What do I have to do?" She asked.  
"I just have to do some tests on you." The man said.

Rae sighed in her firearms class, looking up at the ceiling. Al looked over at her.  
"Rae, I hate to see you so sad," he said softly, "everything will be okay. Just please, cheer up."  
Rae looked over at Al sadly. "How can I?" she whispered. "Kaori has been gone for three whole months now. I'm really worried!"

Hawkeye cleared her throat loudly and looked over at Rae and Al. "Anything you'd like to share with the class, Ms. Antkowiak and Mr. Elric?"  
Rae stood up at her desk. "Yes, I do, Ms. Hawkeye. I'm worried about Kaori. She hasn't showed up to school in three months."  
Hawkeye looked at Rae. "I know that. Now please sit down, Rae."  
Rae didn't sit down. "No. I'm goin' to Mustang's office!" She then excused herself from the classroom and walked to Roy's office.

A test had backfired on Kaori's blood. The Crimson Elixir pumped so fast through her veins that it started to control her body. She ran off towards the school with a strong urge to kill.

"Mustang, aren't you the least bit worried about Kaori? I mean, she still is your sister, no matter what you think or say. Families aren't just bound by blood." Rae said, sitting in the extra chair in Roy's office.  
"I'm not worried at all." Roy said. "She can make it on her own."  
"Roy!" Rae said standing up, angrily. "I can't believe you don't care! What if she's…" tears started to form in her eyes. "What if Kaori's dead!"

Roy simply looked up at Rae, who was shaking with anger. "Calm down, Brokenhearted. It's these kinds of things that make your passion to kill come out."

Rae gasped. "You... Knew?" She asked, her body's shaking finally calming down.  
Roy nodded. "Yes. I also know about your parent's death, and your living conditions. You are living in an abandoned church with the Fox Alchemist, aren't you?"  
Rae nodded and sat down. "I guess this is why I'm called the 'BrokenHearted' Alchemist..."  
Roy smirked. "Yeah. The Furher gives out fitting names, doesn't he?"

When Kaori reached the school, she clapped her hands and made the front door of the school explode. Some students tried to stop her, but they were killed just for being in Kaori's way.

Rae ran out of Mustang's office and met up with Al, Kai, Mac and Ed. The group then ran to where Kaori was. Rae gasped as she watched Kaori killing other students.

"Guys!" Rae yelled, running in Kaori's direction.  
"Rae!" Al yelled. "What're you going to--  
"Just don't look!" Rae screamed.  
Two spikes then shot out of the back of Rae's hips and her two tentacles quickly shot out of the backs of her shoulders. Al, Mac, and Ed gasped at the sight.  
"Kaori..." Rae whispered. "Forgive me!"  
She then made her spikes curve around her body so that they pointed at Kaori. She shot them into Kaori's shoulders. Rae sighed sadly as she saw blood splatter onto the floor. She then shot her tentacles out at Kaori and wrapped them around her friend's neck.

Kaori immediately clapped her hands and touched Rae's spikes, then the tentacles.

Rae screamed in pain and Al ran over to her side. "Kaori!" He yelled. Rae then fell to the ground. Her tentacles fell limp onto the floor, leaking blood everywhere.  
Roy then ran over, glaring at Kaori. He pulled on his special gloves and snapped at Kaori.

When the blast of flames came toward Kaori, all she did was hold out her hand and the flames disappeared.  
"Holy shit!" Ed said.  
"How did she do that?" Al asked.  
"I... Don't know..." Rae said weakly. Her tentacles and spikes shot back into her body and she stood up slowly.

Kaori ran up to Roy and punched him, then kicked him. She then grabbed his gloves and destroyed them.

The guy who did the tests on Kaori ran into the building, breathing heavily. "Quite a powerful girl, isn't she?" He said, walking near Ed, Mac, Rae, Kai, and Al.  
"Who the hell are you, and what did you do to Kaori?" Mac asked, a tone of anger in his voice.  
"She simply agreed to go through the testing; she was tired of being an Alchemic Tool. The only thing that went wrong was that an experiment went wrong." The man said.

Kaori charged towards Mac and tried to punch him, but he grabbed her fist before it made contact with his body.  
"Predictable." He simply stated.  
"Dammit!" Kaori yelled, still trying to punch Mac.  
Mac continued to block Kaori's attacks. He actually seemed quite bored.

_Damn! This is taking too long..._ Kaori thought.

She then clapped her hands and grabbed her pocket watch, turning it into a sword. She then took down Mac so quickly that she took the chance to attack the others.  
Kai noticed Kaori's eyes changed from light purple to dark red.  
"Kaori knows what she's doing, but she has no control over it." Kaori whispered to Rae.  
Kaori fell to her knees in pain, shaking violently. She knew that something was happening, but she didn't know just what.

"Shit," the man who did the experiments on her stated, "the side effects of the experiments are getting worse."  
"What's going to happen to her?" Ed asked.  
"She's either going to go back to normal, or she's going to die." The man replied.

Rae growled at the man. "You better do something before I kill you." She then clapped her hands and transmuted her automail into a blade. Rae's eyes widened as she coughed hard and blood shot out of her mouth and splattered onto the floor.

The man ignored Rae's coughing fits. "I don't know what to do." He said, shrugging.  
"Do you even know what you did to her!" Ed asked.  
"Nope." The man stated bluntly.

Kaori fainted, falling onto the hard floor.

Rae and Kai looked over at the man. "I am so going to kill you." They both said. The two girls then attacked the man and Rae slashed at his neck. Rae backed away as Kai snapped her fingers and made a small dark cloud appear.  
The dark cloud sent a few lightning bolts at the man, killing him.  
Rae and Kai high-fived each other. "SCORE!" They yelled, giggling. Al sighed, shaking his head.

Kaori woke up, lying in a hospital bed. She noticed Mac was sitting in a chair next to her bed. He was peacefully sleeping with his head rested on Kaori's bed.

_What the fuck happened?_ She thought.

The next thing Kaori knew was that both Rae and Kai had glomped her.  
"YAY!" The two girls yelled, hugging their friend. "You aren't dead!"  
"Dammit, get off of me!" Kaori yelled.  
"Okay." Kai and Rae said, getting off of their friend and sitting on her bed.  
"What did you mean by 'dead?'" Kaori asked.  
"You don't remember a thing, do you?" Kai asked, frowning a little.  
"Remember what?" Kaori asked.  
Ed walked over and started to explain the past events.

Kaori then looked over at Mac and asked, "How long has he been here?"  
"Ever since they put you in this room." Rae said, sighing.  
Ed looked over at Kaori's hands. "Kaori, what the hell did you do!"  
Kaori didn't look at her hands. "It's nothing. Don't worry."  
Ed shrugged and walked out of the room.  
Rae smirked evilly. "You know, if I were you, I'd be staring at Mac sleeping. You know you love him."  
"RAE!" Kaori yelled, blushing heavily. "SHUT UP!"  
Rae and Kai looked at each other and nodded, smirking evilly.

"Ohhh," They started to say in a singsong voice. "Kaori _loves_ Mac! Kaori_ loves_ Mac!"

Kaori's face was dark red now. "SHUT. UP."  
The two girls continued to sing as they rocked side-to-side on the hospital bed.  
Kaori grumbled and groaned as Rae and Kai's voice rang in her ears.

_"Kaori loves Mac... Kaori loves Mac..."

* * *

Heheh, this chapter has got to be one of my favorites._

Rae: sings Kaori loves Mac shot by the other writer  
Kaori: Shut up, Rae! has her gun in her hand  
Rae: shotted

Yes, shotted. Leave a review!


	7. Chapter 6

"Shut up!" Kaori yelled.

Rae and Kai continued to sing, but stopped when Al walked into the room.

"My Al!" Rae yelled, giggling. She then glomped Al, landing on top of him.

Kai and Kaori sighed. "You're an idiot, Rae."

After awhile, Kaori looked over at her bedside table. She cocked her head to the side as she looked at a mysterious box with a card attached to it.

"What is it?" Rae and Kai asked in unison.  
"I… Don't know…" Kaori said, still staring at the box.  
"Then open it!" Al said.

When Kaori opened the box, she gasped softly. She picked up a blue and purple dragon necklace, which had her name engraved in it. She looked at it closer and noticed Mac's initials were in it too.

"It's so pretty…" Kai said in awe.

After an hour or so, X came into the room and Mac woke up. Ed had also returned.

"Shall we get you out of here?" Mac asked, smiling at Kaori, who was wearing the necklace.  
"Sure." Kaori said softly.

The group got Kaori checked out and they started walking down the street.

"Oh, guys!" Kaori started. "Rae, X, I bought us all a new house to live in. It came with furniture and everything!"

Rae's eyes glittered. "You… You didn't!" She said. Her voice was excited and high-pitched.

Kaori laughed softly. She was barely smiling when she nodded. "I did. I thought it would be a great idea to get you two out of your old place."

"Thanks so much!" X and Rae said in unison, and then hugged their friend.

Rae gasped as she saw two kittens walk out of an alley towards her. Rae picked up one and Kaori picked up another. Just then, two puppies followed the kittens and walked up to Mac and X.

"What're they doing?" Ed asked.  
"I… Don't know." Mac said. He looked down at the puppy rubbing against his leg and laughed.

X knelt down and petted a puppy. She swished her two tails as the puppy wagged his fiercely.

Rae giggled. "Hey, Kaori, can we keep the kittens at our place?"

Kaori nodded. "Fine with me!"

Mac smiled and pointed to the puppy sitting by his feet. "I'm keeping this one."

X shrugged. "The kittens are fine with me, but I'm keeping this puppy!" She then picked up her puppy and scratched behind its ears.

The group continued to walk until they reached a two story house.

"Welcome home, guys." Kaori said, smiling a little.

Rae smiled, laughing excitedly. "This is so much better than the old abandoned church!"  
Al frowned. _I never realized how bad her living situation was…_

X smiled. "We'll be able to have so many parties here." She then smirked to Rae and Kaori.  
Kaori smirked back and opened the front door of the house.

Rae walked around the house, examining every room. She then screamed and the others ran over to her.

"Rae!" Al said. "What… Is…"  
"Beer room." Rae simply stated.

"Holy shit!" Mac yelled.

For a moment, everyone stared in awe at the beer room door.

"Wait until you see the inside." Kaori said, snickering.

"Underage drinking is bad…" Al said.

"Fine then. We won't get drunk." Kaori said sarcastically.

The group then sat down in the living room and talked for awhile.

"Uh… I'll go get us some drinks!" Kaori said.

"Ooh! I want to help!" Rae said excitedly.

The girls then walked into the kitchen. Rae grabbed some cups, soda, and a few cans of beer.

Rae and Kaori looked at each other, smirked, nodded, and began to mix the soda with the beer.

The two girls walked back into the living room, carrying many cups of spiked soda.

An hour later, Rae looked over at Al and glomped him.

"Al!" Rae said, still lying on top of him.  
_Rae… You have to be drunk…_ Al thought.

Al and Rae looked over at Kai, who had a lampshade on her head. Kaori was flirting with Mac (who was flirting back), and X and Jae were still drinking, and started to have a burping contest.

"Al…" Rae whined. "Let's go…" She then nudged to the staircase. She hiccupped and smirked slyly.  
"Rae, you're drunk," Al said, blushing and frowning.  
Rae hiccupped and giggled. "No, I'm not, Al!" She said, her words slurred. "Now let's go!"

Al didn't budge. "You—you're drunk."  
Rae sighed and hiccupped again.

"She's not drunk. Rae and I have a high alcohol resistance." Kaori said, hiccupping and laughing.  
"Yup, Kaori is," Rae stopped and hiccupped, "right!"  
Al sighed. "No she isn't. All of you are drunk."

Ed tripped over his own feet. "I'm not as think as you drunk I am!"

"I swear to drunk I'm not God." Mac said. He then fell over next to Ed.

_Why am I surrounded by my drunken friends!_ Al cried in his head.

"Hey, Al! If you can't beat us, join us!" Mac said, still lying on the floor.

About 20 more drinks, or about an hour, later, Kaori looked out the window and saw Roy and Riza walking down the pathway to the house.

"Oh, shit!" She cried out.

"What is it?" Rae said, stumbling everywhere.

"Roy's coming! Hide!" Kaori yelled.

Ed quickly clapped his hands and used alchemy to clean up all of the beer cans and the trash all over the floor.

The group ran up the stairs. Rae grabbed Al by the wrist and pulled him into her room, locking the door. Kaori and Mac ran into Kaori's room, and Jae, X, and Ed hid in X's room.

As Roy and Riza came to the front door, they heard a rush of people in the house.

"What was that?" Riza asked.

"I don't know… But I'm getting suspicious." Roy said.

Roy and Riza then walked into the house.

"Kaori?" Riza called out.

No response.

"She has to be here… Kari told me this was her new place." Roy said.

Upstairs, Kai knocked on the bedroom doors.

"Guys?" she whispered. "Let me in!"

Kai then heard Roy and Riza walking upstairs.

"Oh, shit!" Kai whispered her voice panicked. She then saw her lampshade and put it on her head.

Roy looked at the "lamp" in confusion.

"Sir, what is it?" Riza asked.  
"It's… Nothing." Roy said, shaking his head.

Kai then curtsied, and, without Roy noticing, ran downstairs and hid in the beer room.

Hours later, X and Jae woke up, Ed lying between them. Jae lifted up her blindfold and her eyes widened.

"Oh… Fuck…" The girls said in unison.

Jae screamed, waking up Ed and everyone else in the house.

Rae shot up, being sure not to hit Al's head. She was breathing heavily and her body was hot and sweaty.

"Rae… What is it?" Al asked, trying to catch his breath.

Rae stopped and caught her breath. She then rubbed her head, which was aching from the many drinks she had. "Ouch… I just heard Jae scream…"

Al smirked slyly. "Can't we check on her later?" He then kissed Rae's neck.

"Al…" Rae moaned softly. She was giggling and blushing a bit. "No, we have to check on Jae…"

Al looked into Rae's eyes. "Just five more minutes in—I mean, _with_ you."

Rae blushed more and giggled. "Fine." She said, groaning.

Al smirked and moved his hands down Rae's sides, feeling every curve of her body. "You won't regret it."

Jae looked over at X. "You remember what happened, right?"

X shook her head. "No… But my hands handcuffed to the bedposts, your blindfold, and Ed… Who's awake! Well, that tells me that _something_ happened."

Ed groaned and sat up. "You guys were so drunk earlier." He then snickered.

The next day, Kaori got out of bed, not even bothering to put on her normal clothes. She immediately ran downstairs when she heard someone knocking at the door.

_It must be Roy to yell at me…_ She thought.

When Kaori opened the door, she saw the Fuhrer standing at her doorstep.

"Sir!" Kaori said, immediately saluting.

"At ease, Darklight. You have a new assignment; I would have given you this at school, but you weren't there… Anyways, why didn't you show up?" The Fuhrer asked, handing Kaori an envelope.

Kaori took the envelope. "I… Have a really bad headache and I accidentally slept in, sir." She laughed nervously and smiled.   
"Oh, okay. Just don't let it happen again." The Fuhrer replied, smiling a little. He then walked away.

Kaori closed the door and immediately read the letter.

_Urg! I have to check over the battle grounds over at SJH…_ She complained in her head.

"Hey, who was that?" Rae asked, standing at the top of the staircase with her undershirt and a pair of very short shorts on.  
"It was just Roy, nagging again, as usual." Kaori lied. "I have to stop by headquarters, so once I get my uniform on, I'm out of here."  
"Oh…" Rae said. She yawned and went back into her room.

Kaori walked upstairs and got her uniform on. She then walked back downstairs and walked out of the house.

Kaori continued walking from her house to headquarters, making sure her friends didn't follow her. She then ran off to the battle grounds between SJH and CJH.

Back at the house, Mac woke up and stretched. He looked around. "Where's Kaori?" He asked himself.

He then walked into the bathroom and found a note taped to his forehead.

"Kaori!" He groaned.

He snatched the note and read it out loud to himself.

"Mac, if you actually are reading this, then I am at the battle grounds in between Spanaway Jr. High and Cedarcrest. I got an assignment from the Fuhrer to check out the place. At least I'm pretty sure… But please, don't tell Rae, she'll just worry about me, as always, and I really don't want that. If Rae wants to know where I am, tell her I went to Kari's or something.

Thanks!  
-Kaori"

It had been an hour, and Kaori still hadn't found anything. She declared that nothing was there.

_Why did the Fuhrer send me here? _Kaori thought.

Kaori then turned around, and was attacked by a group of Ishbalans.

"What do you want?" Kaori asked.  
"Your life!" An Ishbalan said. They then punched Kaori hard enough to make her faint.

A week later, a group of Ishbalans came into the school and pounded on Roy's office door.

Roy opened his office door and glared at the Ishbalan girl at his door.

"What do you want?" He asked, pulling on his gloves.  
"Do you want to know where Kaori is?" The girl asked.  
"You know where she is!" Roy asked, his eyes glaring hard at the girl.  
"Yeah. Get her friends and tell them to follow me to the lake by Spanaway Jr." The girl said.

Roy took the intercom microphone and called down Rae, Al, Mac, Ed, X, Kai, and Danielle down to his office.

The group followed the girl to the lake. They then saw two Ishbalan boys throwing a tied-up Kaori into the middle of the lake.

The Ishbalans then ran off, snickering.

"Kaori!" Rae yelled, taking off her jacket. Her undershirt was a very tight belly top with a high neck. It showed her orobourous, but she didn't care.

Al looked over at Rae. "Don't!" He cried. "You're automail…"

Rae nodded. "I know." She then closed her eyes and took out her metal arm, then dropped it onto the ground.

Rae jumped into the lake, followed by Mac and Ed.

Ed's arm and leg helped him sink faster to the bottom, but Mac was already swimming quickly ahead of him.

_I wanna save Kaori, but I need to take a breath! Damn! Doesn't Mac need to go up too? _Ed thought in his head.

Ed started swimming towards the top of the lake for air.

Rae popped her head above the surface of the water, gasping for air. She then got out of the water, and looked down at herself. She blushed heavily as she saw her miniskirt sticking to the curves of her hips, and her undershirt was really tight at that moment.

Al wiped his nose, his glove a bit red. "Rae, couldn't you find her?"

"I would've, but my chest is also automail and it weighed me down." Rae replied, looking down and still blushing.

Rae then walked back to where her arm was on the ground and picked it up.

Al walked over to Rae's side and held her hand. "Take a deep breath, Rae."

Rae took the deepest breath she could and shoved her automail arm back in. She screamed so loud that Mac could hear her underwater.

Al hugged Rae. "You're fine…" He said, smiling.  
Rae blushed. "Yeah…"

Mac popped out of the water, Kaori lying in his arms. He was gasping for breath and he couldn't even speak until he caught his breath.

Kaori woke up a few minutes later. It seemed that she was fine, even being underwater for a good couple of minutes.

"Damn it, my pocket watch stopped working." Mac said, looking at the watch.

"Let me see." Kaori said.

Kaori opened the back of the watch, but before she could see inside it, she felt a sharp pain go through her fingers. The watch fell to the ground, and she was unaware of its landing.

"Ouch…" Kaori said softly, looking at her hand.

"Hey, what's inside the watch?" Al asked.

Mac picked up his watch and opened the back of it and watched the Philosopher's Stone fall out of it.

"Is that the…" Mac said, his voice trailing off.

"Holy shit!" Roy yelled.

"What the fuck!" Ed yelled.

"How the hell did that get in there…?" Rae asked, her voice hushed a little.

"I'm so stupid! That's how the watch amplifies our alchemy!" Kaori said.

_Why did it hurt when I tried to open it?_ Kaori thought.

Rae's eyes flashed. "Kaori… Can I talk to you?"

Kaori nodded and walked over to Rae.

"What is it?" Kaori asked.

"Your blood is trying to mix with the Stone, man. If I were you, I wouldn't go near those. Something really bad could happen to you!" Rae whispered. "When I was researching the stone, this happened to people that I read about…"

Rae then backed up a little and took out her pocket watch.

"Rae, don't waste it… It's not worth it!" Al said, walking towards Rae.

Rae closed her eyes and took out the stones from her watch.

"…I just want to be human again."

Al's eyes widened. "Rae, don't!"

"I'm ready to give up anything to become human. Even some stupid amplification in my alchemy." She said softly.

Rae opened her eyes and made one spike come out from the back of her hip. She made it curl around her so that it could cut a transmutation circle into her chest.

When she finished cutting herself up, her undershirt was ripped and she was covered in blood.

"See you guys when I'm human." Rae said. She then put the stones into her palm and touched the circle on her chest.

"Rae!" Was the last thing she heard before she fainted.


	8. Chapter 7

Rae's body flashed red, then quickly changed to yellow.

"Rae…" Al whispered, a bit worried.

Mac shuffled next to Kaori. "Aren't you worried?"  
"No." Kaori stated.  
"Why not?" Mac asked, a confused look on his face.  
"Rae can do this herself. I have friends that can support themselves. The only time I help out is if the situation is out of control: if you can fix it yourself, do it yourself."

"But--" Mac said, but got interrupted.

"Just forget it." Kaori said.

_She has to be strong so she won't be a burden to others… But she's not a problem to me…_ Mac thought.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Kaori started to use his arm as a pillow.

The light faded, and Rae's unconscious body fell to the ground.

"Rae!" Al yelled, sitting down beside her.

About ten minutes later, Rae stirred, moaning softly.

Al quickly picked Rae up and set her into his lap. He then wrapped his arms around her waist, and, without any control over his body, he hugged her tightly.

"Al…" Rae whispered. She buried her face into the side of his neck and relaxed in his arms. "Al…" She repeated. "Look at my body… Is there anything different?"

Al let go of her and she leaned back a little, so he could see her better.

Everything was different. She seemed a bit shorter (only by two or three inches) and her body was a bit more curvy. Her left arm was flesh now, which made him smile. He then looked down at her hips.

"Rae!" He gasped. He hugged her again. "The ourobourous is gone…" A sigh of relief came from him. "You're human again…"

Rae giggled and smiled. "Success…" She said softly.

"Yes!" Kaori cried out.

"Yay! You're human!" Kai yelled, jumping up and down excitedly.

"I'm really confused." Roy said.

"It's okay. You don't have to understand a thing." Mac said.

"Hey, midget," Ed began, "you okay?"

Kaori looked over at him. She didn't seem to be angry at him. "I'm over that now. If you let something as small as that bother you… That's just stupid. Don't you agree, Fullmetal Pipsqueak?"

Ed's face turned red in anger. The group laughed at this.

Rae smiled and continued to lie in Al's arms.

"Guys," she began, "let's get out of this place. We have no reason to be here anymore."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Al smiled. "Rae, you must be tired from the transmutation; want me to carry you?"

Rae nodded. "Please." She then wrapped her arms around Al's neck as he picked her up bridal style.

Roy walked away from the group without saying a word. He was heading off in the direction of the school.

Everyone else followed him shortly after.

Rae stirred in Al's arms. It seemed that she was resting peacefully.

Al smiled as he watched Rae sleep. "Hey, guys, I think I'm going to take Rae back to her house and watch over her there."

"That's fine with me." Kaori said. "She shouldn't go to school after such a big change in her body."

Al grinned. "Okay then. See you guys later!" He then turned a street corner and walked away.

Kaori felt a sharp pain go up her arm, but she didn't show any pain; she didn't want to be a burden.

_Hmm… since I can't use alchemy, maybe I should do something else… Maybe swordsmanship…_ Kaori thought.

"What're you thinking about?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, what are you thinking? You've been too quiet." Ed said.

"Oh… Nothing…" Kaori said.

"Is something bothering you?" X asked.

"No!" Kaori said, kind of frustrated.

While they were walking back to school, Kaori saw a box moving.

"What the hell?" She asked, walking over to the box.

The box stopped moving. Kaori knelt down beside it and poked it.

"You don't know what's in there!" Ed said.

Kaori ignored him and opened the box, revealing three puppies and three kittens.

"Oh God… More!" Kaori cried out.

"Yay! Animals!" Kai yelled excitedly.

A large sigh escaped from Kaori's mouth. "Well, we just can't leave them here… X, can you go and take them back home?"

"Sure!" X said happily. She picked up the box and walked off.

At school the next day, an announcement came on the intercom.

"Later today there will be a Pep Assembly celebrating the end of the first semester." Roy's voice said.

Later at the Assembly, Rae and Kaori smirked as they were chosen for two contests. Kaori for the screaming contest and Rae for the burping contest (which she laughed at at first).

The screaming contest came first, so Kaori and the other two contestants walked to the middle of the gym. All eyes were on them.

The first two contestants went, each letting out two small, yet loud screams.

The gym was silent. Just then, Jae (who had snuck in to the gym for this event) stood up at her seat in the stands and yelled out to Kaori, "SCREAM LIKE YOU WOULD IF MAC HATED YOUR GUTS!"

_Thank God, Mac isn't here!_ Kaori yelled in her head.

Kaori's face turned red in anger. Her mouth opened wide, just before a very high-pitched scream came form her.

The gym shook and the windows quickly shattered. The glass shards could be heard falling onto the cement floors of the nearby hallway.

Kaori closed her mouth and smirked. "Is that good enough for you, Jae!" She yelled out.

The whole gym was applauding. Many cheers were heard, and Rae's laughter was heard, too.

Rae then smirked as the applause died down. Roy called up the contestants for the burping contest.

Rae was holding back laughter after the other two contestants let out small, insignificant burps.

Jae stood up at her seat again when it was Rae's turn. "LOOK OUT!" She yelled.

Rae gave a thumbs-up to Jae and laughed. She then took a deep breath of air, swallowed it, and kept her mouth shut for a whole minute.

Jae sat back down and smirked. The gym was silent again, so she took the opportunity to yell again. "Here goes nothing!"

Rae smirked again and forced up the air, creating a loud burp that shook the already broken windows.

"Oh yeah!" Rae yelled. She smiled when the whole gym was full of applause.

Later that day, Kaori was home alone. She was researching old files as Rae and X were out with everyone else.

Kaori heard someone knock at the door, so she stood up and answered it.

"Sir!" Kaori said, saluting.

"Kaori. You know too much." The Fuhrer said as he pulled out his swords. He then slashed at Kaori.

Kaori quickly dodged the blades and punched the Fuhrer in the face, knocking off his eye patch.

"You're a…" Kaori began, but her words trailed off.

"Yes, I am. And now you know too much to stay alive!" The Fuhrer yelled as he stabbed Kaori in the chest.

Kaori's eyes widened. _No! I'm not going to die! Not yet! Not like this! I have to tell the others!_ Her body fell limply to the ground and her vision faded away.

The Fuhrer watched blood spill out of Kaori's body and left when he was convinced that she was dead.

About two hours later, Rae and the others came back to the house. Rae knew that Kaori was home, so she just knocked on the door. No answer.

"Kaori!" She yelled. "Open up!"

Still no answer.

"That's weird! The lights are on…" X said.

"I know…" Rae said as she pulled out her key.

She unlocked the door and the group walked in.

Rae screamed as she saw Kaori's body lying in a puddle of blood. Kaori's clothes were stained red, and her skin was pale.

"Kaori…" Mac whispered, as he ran to Kaori's side. He then checked her pulse. A sigh of relief escaped from him. "She's alive… But just barely hanging on."

"Then let's get her the fuck out of here!" Rae cried out, her voice breaking.

The group nodded and they immediately took Kaori to the hospital.

Hours later, Kaori woke up. She was then glomped by Rae, X, and Kai.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Kaori cried out. "Get off!"

"Sorry!" The girls said in unison.

"Yay! You're not dead!" Kai yelled.

"Yes, we were so worried for you!" Rae said, smiling.

Kaori sat up. "Where's Roy!" She looked around the room.

"Why do you need him?" Kai asked.

"Everybody should hear this… What I saw earlier." Kaori said, looking down.

Rae and Mac quickly left the room and immediately got Roy, Riza, Hughes, and Havoc.

"What did you see?" Roy asked.

"The Fuhrer, King Bradley, is a homunculus… I saw the ourobourous on his eye after I knocked off his eye patch…"

"What did you say!" Rae asked, shocked.

"He's not a real person! He's a homunculus!" Kaori cried out.

"But…" Ed began, but trailed off.

"The Fuhrer wants me dead, I know it. If someone says I am guilty of treason, he's just trying to hide some more things. I also heard that he is planning to use the students at Cedarcrest to make a Philosopher's Stone." Kaori said.

"But that means he has to draw a transmutation circle!" Mac said.

"It's already drawn. If you peel away the paint and take out the lockers, it's there." Kaori said. Her voice was hushed and low when she said that.

"This can't be true…" Rae said, looking down at the floor.

"It is, Rae. And we all have to stop it." Kaori said, looking right at her friend.

At school the next day, General Hakuro walked into Kaori's first period class.

"Is Kaori Mustang here?" He asked.

"Yes, right over there, General." Havoc said, pointing to the purple-haired girl.

"Kaori, the Fuhrer wants to talk to you." Hakuro said, walking towards her.

Kaori started to back up towards the window.

"Don't!" Hakuro yelled.

It was too late, Kaori had already jumped out the window and began to run.

"Damn it!" Hakuro said under his breath. He then ran out of the classroom and down the nearest staircase.

Rae's brow furrowed and she jumped out the window, too. She followed Kaori's tracks and ran as fast as she could.

Kaori met up with Mac after running for a bit.

"Is anyone following you?" Mac asked.

"I don't think so." Kaori replied, looking around.

Rae continued to run, looking for Kaori. She looked behind her and saw an army of soldiers chasing her.

_My hair is so giving me away… It stands out way too much… Oh what the hell am I thinking! RUN!_ She yelled in her head as she picked up speed.

"Greatest time to be a human and without automail!" Rae yelled, still running.

Rae saw Kaori up ahead and decided not to meet up with her. She quickly turned a corner and continued running. She looked back and saw the soldiers still chasing after her.

A half hour later, Rae finally lost the soldiers. She sighed started walking to where she last saw Kaori.

"You know it too, don't you?"

Rae gasped and froze in place. "Know what? that you're a sin!"

Rae turned around and pulled a gun out of her jacket. She shot at the Fuhrer multiple times and continued shooting.

"I just have to keep killing you..." She said as she continued shooting. "Until that Philosopher's Stone keeping you alive stops making you regenerate!"

The Fuhrer stabbed Rae in her shoulders. "Keep quiet, Passion!" He pushed the swords so that they cut up more of her body.

Rae glared at him. "I'm not Passion anymore!" Her rage made her strong enough that she could pull the Philosopher's Stone right out of the Fuhrer's chest.

"...And stay dead." Rae said weakly. She then kicked the limp body lying on the ground.

Rae walked away as her shoulders continued to bleed. Rae looked around. "Kaori must've gotten away."

Kaori was hiding out in an abandoned building with Mac.

"Do you think they've given up?" Mac asked.

Kaori looked out a window. "The coast is clear; let's go."

Mac smiled a little. "Wait a minute."

Mac pulled Kaori close to him and hugged her tightly. "I just needed to tell you that I've worried about you for so long… I promise you, I'll be by your side forever. I'll be here for you; remember that."

Kaori blushed heavily and nodded. She was completely speechless.

Rae's body felt weak, but she continued walking.

"Damn it! I didn't realize how far I ran..."

Rae started to see doubles, even with her glasses on. She felt dizzy and lightheaded from all of the blood lost.

Rae fell to the ground. Her breathing was shallow and her vision faded away. Her eyes closed as her body stopped moving. She listened to her heart beat as she fell unconscious.

"And why do you want to join the military at such a young age? You are only 10, little girl." A voice rang. It sounded like King Bradley's.

"I'm not little! Don't you call me that!" A girl cried out, her voice high-pitched. "I want to join the military... Because it was a promise I made to a fallen family member..."

"Fallen family member?" Bradley's voice rang. "That's very good of you to follow out a promise made to someone who is gone..."

The little girl nodded. "I made this promise to all of my family... They were killed shortly after that..." The girl's voice was breaking, but she kept her composure.

Her vision faded as she could see the same girl, except she was a bit older.

"Passion..." A woman's voice rang. It sounded a lot like Lust. "Come with us. We can help you become human again."

She saw the girl stand there, her eyes a deep purple, with a blue tint.

Her shirt was a v-neck tank top, which showed most of her chest. It was a belly shirt and a symbol on the left side of her hip was showing. It looked a lot like a snake eating its own tail, with two wings on either side of it.

She was also wearing a black leather skirt, which was very short. Her fingerless gloves and her boots were also leather.

"Never." The girl said, her voice hushed and dark. "I'm doing this myself!"

"You're not going to survive without me, Passion! I'm the closest thing to family you'll ever have!"

"That's not true! I don't want anything to do with you, or the others!"

"We brought you this life, Passion! You can't just leave us! You owe us for this!"

The girl's purple eyes glowed. "I don't owe you anything. You didn't bring me back..." Her dark voice echoed.

Two tentacles sprouted out of her back and she shot them at the woman standing in front of her.

The woman shot out her fingernails at her and sliced away the tentacles. She then fled.

The vision faded as King Bradley's face appeared.

"Keep quiet, Passion."

"I'M NOT PASSION!" Rae screamed, shooting up. Her breathing was fast and uneven. Cold sweat was running down her face.

Al gasped and hugged Rae tightly. "Rae...I was so worried for you…" He looked at her with worried eyes.

Rae calmed down and looked at her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. She then looked at herself. Her chest and shoulders were bandaged, and the bandages were covered in blood.

Kai smiled. "I'm glad you're okay, now! You were out for hours!"  
Rae gasped. "I was out that long?"

Al nodded. "Yeah. I was really worried that you wouldn't wake up. You're breathing was very shallow and your pulse was very slow. I could barely feel it…"

Rae felt dizzy and lightheaded again. "I'm sorry... For making you worry..." She said softly. "But guys," she said louder, "I have something to tell you. All of you."

Kai, X, Kaori, Mac, Ed and Al looked at her.

"You have our attention, Rae." Al said.

"Just after the Fuhrer stabbed me and cut me up," Rae said, pointing to her bloody bandages, "I killed him."

Kaori gasped. "You didn't!"

"If you want proof, go to the outskirts of town. That's where his body is... But a lot of the higher-ups will want to get us, now. We're on their top priority list."

Kaori's eyes glowed. "We have to stop the higher-ups from doing anything drastic. I knew this would happen!"

Rae's eyes darkened. "But how're we supposed to stop them? You tell me that, Kaori!"

Kaori smirked. "To survive, you must kill. Kill everyone who gets in your way, and kill anyone who you think is an enemy."

Kai and X gasped.

"You're right, Kaori." Mac said. "We can't let anyone try and turn us or anyone else into a Philosopher's Stone!"

Rae nodded. "We're strong enough to do this, guys. We can do this!"


	9. Chapter 8

"Al, Ed, and everyone else will stay at school; make sure the Philosopher's Stone doesn't get made." Kaori said. "Rae, you're coming with me."

"Why?" Ed asked.

"Because, Rae and I know where everything and everyone is in Central." Kaori explained.

"So?" Ed replied.

"Rae and I are the ones wanted, okay?" Kaori said.

"Kaori, you also need someone that can get close to the higher-ups and report back." Roy said, walking in.

"Exactly." Kaori said.

_Wow… They agree for once!_ Mac thought.

"What're you going to do with the higher-ups?" Ed asked.

"Kill them." Rae said.

"How're you going to do that?" Mac asked.

"Well, I was the best assassin back when I was six years old…" Kaori admitted.

_Oh, great… My best friend was an assassin…_Mac thought.

Rae grinned. "So, Kaori, got a plan?"

Kaori smirked evilly. "We're going to plan fake deaths."

"Are you insane!" Rae shouted, throwing her hands up in the air.

In her shock, Rae had accidentally opened up her wounds.

"Rae!" Al cried. He then grabbed her by the waist and held her close.

"Feel any better?" He whispered in her ear.

Kaori smiled a little. "So, we need people to help out with the plan."  
Mac smiled. "I'll help."

Rae's eyes widened. "I have an idea!"

Rae marched through Central the next day, her face expressionless. She then ran down a nearby alley and motioned to Jae, who was hiding back there.

Jae quickly ran out, while Rae hid in the alley. Two nearby soldiers cocked their guns.

"Freeze, Ishbalan!" One soldier yelled.

The soldiers chased after Jae, who was running from them. Rae left the alley and chased the soldiers.

"Stop!" Rae ordered.

Rae caught up with Jae and stood in front of her, arms outstretched.

"Leave her alone." Rae growled.

Meanwhile, Roy was calling the higher-ups. "Rae has been spotted in Central."

"Leave. Her. Be. Or else." Rae said, her voice dark. She then pulled a gun out of her jacket and aimed at the soldiers.

The soldiers quickly aimed their rifles at Rae.

"I said 'Leave her alone!'" Rae shouted, shooting at the soldiers. She successfully killed one and wounded the other.

Jae smirked and ran off.

"Stop!" A soldier yelled, running towards Rae.

Rae grinned. She knew it was Mac disguised as another soldier. She still aimed her gun at him.

_Come on, Mac! Shoot!_ Rae thought.

Mac quickly aimed his rifle at Rae's chest and shot. He still felt bad, even thought he knew Rae was wearing a bulletproof vest underneath her jacket.

Rae's body fell to the ground.

Kaori ran around the school, causing trouble.

Roy picked up the intercom. "Attention! Kaori has been spotted!" He yelled. He then saw Kaori and put down the intercom microphone. "Come back here!" He ordered.

"Catch me if you can, flame boy!" Kaori yelled, laughing.

"Ed! Kill my damn sister!" Roy yelled, seeing Ed nearby.

Ed smirked because Roy didn't know what he and the others planned the night before.

Ed pulled out a pistol from his jacket.

Kaori ran to a hallway, but was surrounded by Ed and Armstrong.

"Oh, shit… That wasn't very smart…" Kaori said under her breath.

"Come on, Kaori, if you just come with us, you won't have to be killed." Armstrong said.

"Screw that!" Kaori shouted.

Ed took the chance and shot Kaori. "I've always wanted to do that…"

_Too bad it wasn't real…_ He thought.

Hours later, the group met up in an abandoned warehouse just outside of Central.

"That went well… I suppose." Mac said.

"Too bad it wasn't real!" Ed said, laughing.

"Hey!" Kaori yelled.

"Well, what now?" Al asked.

"Get rid of the higher-ups." Kaori said.

"Then what?" Kai asked.

"We'll let Roy be Fuhrer for awhile." Kaori said.

Kaori and Mac were lucky enough to get into a restricted part of Central Headquarters.

"This place is so big…" Mac said.

"I know." Kaori replied.

After 20 minutes, the two were going back, but the door was gone.

"Wasn't there a door here before?" Kaori asked.

"I think so…" Mac said, trailing off.

Out of nowhere, Envy came into the room and stabbed Mac in the back.

"Why did you do that!" Kaori cried out, pulling out a hidden gun.

"Now, now, Kaori, I wouldn't do that... Or else." Envy said, grinning evilly.

"Or else what?" Kaori asked, her voice dark.

"Or else I'll kill him!" Envy yelled.

"No..." Kaori whispered. She dropped her gun and fell to her knees.

"Now that's a good girl..."

"D-don't hurt him... Please! I'll do anything..." Kaori begged.

"Leave your friends behind, and we'll leave Mac alone. Maybe I'll even help you with that blood problem of yours." Envy said, still grinning.

Kaori nodded. "Can I just take him somewhere so my friends can find him?"

For over 6 days, Envy slowly gave Kaori the Philosopher's stone and took control of her.

"You know what to do." Lust said.  
Kaori nodded and ran off to Cedarcrest.

"Sir, your sister is now in the school." Riza said.

"Are her friends coming?" Roy asked.

"Yes, sir." Riza said.

"We should be just fine, then." Roy replied, a smirk gracing his lips.

"What did Mustang call us down for?" Ed asked, walking down the hall with the group.

"Who knows?" Al asked, he then froze as he saw dozens of dead bodies. They were the bodies of other students.

"Not again…" Rae whispered, her eyes wide.

_Why can't I stop!_ Kaori yelled in her head, killing anyone in her way. _I don't want to kill anyone… But I can't stop!_

The group ran over. "Kaori!" Ed yelled. "What're you doing!"

Kaori clapped her hands and touched the ground, forming a wall between them.

Ed smirked. "You're gonna have to do better than that!" He then clapped his hands and destroyed the wall.

"Kaori?" Rae asked. She looked around and didn't see her friend.

"What the fuck?" Ed asked, frozen in shock.

Meanwhile, Kaori was talking with Lust.

"Good, Kaori. Now go kill off your friends." Lust said, smirking.

Kaori nodded and walked off.

Kaori wandered around the Cedarcrest hallways.

Mac, Rae, Ed, Al, X and Kai met up with her shortly; but they found her with Lust and Envy.

"Get away from her!" Rae shouted.

"Now, now, Passion. Calm down." King Bradley said, walking down the hallway.

"I'm not Passion! Now, I thought I killed you!" Rae growled, pulling out a gun.

Bradley just smiled. "Now, now. It wouldn't be very good to do that. Kaori _is_ very loyal to us, after all."

"How should I believe you, Pride!" Rae growled, aiming at Pride.

Ed transmuted his arm into a blade and charged at Envy.

"Kaori!" Pride yelled, pointing to Envy.

Kaori quickly intercepted the blade and was stabbed in the chest. Ed's eyes widened and he quickly pulled his arm out of Kaori's body.

"Good, now do you believe me?" Pride said, the smile still gracing his lips.

"What did you do to her!" Mac shouted.

"Nothing at all." Envy said.

"Then why is she acting like this? Kaori only follows her own rules!" Rae said.

"All we did was give her the Philosopher's Stone." Lust said, crossing her arms.

_Anytime now… Once I gain their trust… I'll kill them all… _Kaori thought.

Lust, Envy, and Pride began to walk off.

"Come, Kaori." Lust ordered. "Why are you just standing there? Come on!"

Kaori smirked. She then grabbed some nearby scrap metal and transmuted a sword.

"That wasn't smart, Kaori!" Lust yelled, shooting her fingers at Kaori.

Kaori quickly dropped the sword and broke Lust's fingers, but was still stabbed three times. Kaori's body fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Kaori!" Rae cried out. "Kai, X, get her out of here!"

The girls nodded, grabbed Kaori, and ran off.

Lust smirked at Rae. "Now, Passion, why did you leave us?"

Rae growled. "I'm not Passion! You weren't even close to a family… That's why I left!"

Rae then reached into her jacket and pulled out a small silver locket.

Lust froze. "Where… Did you get that!"

"A little birdie dropped it off at my doorstep." Rae said, holding out the locket and quickly walking towards Lust.

Lust backed away. "N—no…"

"Ed! Al! Now!" Rae yelled, throwing the locket at Lust, stunning her.

The brothers slammed their hands down onto a transmutation circle Mac had secretly drawn behind Lust. Lust's body then fell down to the ground, motionless.

"Envy, go." Pride ordered. Envy obeyed and left.

"Pride, you're next. Just you, me, and that eye of yours. No weapons. It's a fight to the death." Rae said. She then looked over at the boys standing a bit away from her. "Don't help me."

Al nodded. _Just don't get too hurt…_

Pride dropped his swords and took off his eye patch. "Come on, Passion; give me all you've got."

Rae growled and charged toward Pride. "Don't call me by that name!"

She punched him a few times, but he grabbed her by the wrist and threw her into a wall.

Rae got back up in an instant. "Pride, don't think I don't know your weakness!"

Pride smiled. "What weakness, Passion?"

"There's a skull inside your office! That's your weakness!" Rae yelled. "And I have it in my possession."

Pride's smile quickly faded. "Oh really, now?"

Pride then picked up both of his swords and charged at Rae. She dove out of his way, tumbling onto the floor.

"My advantage, Passion." He growled.

Pride then kicked Rae in the chest so that she was lying down. He then stabbed her in her left shoulder, making her scream in pain.

"Alphonse, come here." Pride ordered.

Al obeyed and walked over.

"Say goodbye to your beloved."

Al and Rae's eyes widened. "No! You can't!" Al cried out.

"Alphonse, no…" Rae said, her breath coming in and out in deep gasps and pants. "Come here…"

Al knelt down next to Rae.

"I still have the bag of Philosopher's Stones I got a long time ago at the train station… Just revive me with those…" She breathed in his ear.

Al nodded silently and stood up. He then walked over to where Ed and Mac were standing.

"Alright, Pride…" Al began. "Do it."

Pride smirked and raised his other sword and stabbed Rae in the stomach.

Rae's breath came out in horrible shudders. Blood was flooding out of her mouth in large groups. Within seconds, she was lying in a large pool of crimson.

Pride pushed and pulled at the swords so that they cut up more of Rae's body; making her scream in agony. He continued pushing and shoving for at least two minutes.

He then pulled out the blades when he was satisfied. He licked the swords clean.

"The blood of a Sinner is supposed to taste foul, but I see no difference."

Pride then walked off, without another word said.

"A… Al… Alphonse…" Rae croaked softly.

Al quickly ran over to Rae's side, his footsteps quickly splashing blood around..

"Rae, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let him go any farther…" Al said, his voice shaking and tears rolling down his cheeks.

Rae shook her head slowly. "No… Al… It's my… Fault…" She said, her voice wheezing as she gasped for breath.

Al gently lifted up Rae's head and pulled her into a gentle, sad kiss. He then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. His body shook violently as more tears fell.

"Al… phonse… My only love…"

Rae's body fell limp in his arms.

Mac and Ed walked over.

"It's over, Al… Let's get going…" Ed said softly, his voice breaking.

The next day, Kaori was lying in a hospital bed. She still hadn't come to and the group was very worried.

"Will she be alright?" Al asked.

"Yes, she's always okay in the end…" X said.

After a while, the group fell asleep. Kaori woke up later.

The next day, Kaori was very depressed. Her self confidence was low and she didn't smile at all. She was too depressed about all the people she killed.

"Damn it! I can't cheer her up…" X said, sighing.

"I tried, and failed." Mac said.

"She ignored me completely!" Ed cried.

"Maybe Roy can help!" Kai suggested.

"But Roy reported her to the higher-ups!" Ed said.

"I think Roy could help a little bit…" X said, lifting a finger.

"Fine, we can try it, but if he kills her don't blame it on me!" Ed said.

Mac then got Roy and explained everything to him. Roy then walked over to Kaori.

"Now what, planning to be a depressed bitch?" Roy asked.

"No." Kaori said simply.

"Hmm… You would usually kick my ass for that comment." Roy said.

"So?" Kaori asked.

"You know your friends care." Roy replied.

"They shouldn't!" Kaori said.

"Especially…" Roy began.

Kaori slapped Roy.

"Well, I see my sister isn't being a depressed bitch anymore." Roy said, smirking darkly.

Kaori slapped him again.

"Hmm… You may not be a Mustang by blood but you sure have the temper, attitude, and stubbornness." Roy said, still smirking. "Yep, that's you."

"Well, it's embarrassing to even know that I'm related to you…" Kaori said, crossing her arms.

"Well, that's why I exist, I guess, to embarrass you to the very end." Roy replied.

"And drive me crazy, don't forget that!" Kaori said, laughing softly.

"Like the time I drove you crazy and you broke one of Mom's vases?" Roy asked, remembering.

Kaori grinned. "Yeah, and you got in trouble for it!"

The two laughed.

"Well, I have to get going, I have paperwork to do." Roy said, yawning and stretching.

"Don't you mean you have to go sleep?" Kaori asked, grinning evilly.

"Hey! I do some work!" Roy cried out.

"Oh, really? Then why do you have a huge stack on your desk, still?" Kaori asked, the grin still gracing her lips.

"…I don't." Roy said. He then walked off in a huff.

A week later, Al was standing in Rae's room. He had found the bag of Kaori's blood earlier that day.

He took off his jacket and shirt and grabbed a nearby marker. He then drew a transmutation circle on his chest.

Al sighed. "Rae…" He whispered. He then took Kaori's blood out of the bag and let the stones fall into his palm. Without another word, he places his hands on his chest, activating the transmutation.

Al's body flashed yellow and the room lit up. After a few minutes, the light faded and a body was sprawled on the floor.

Al gasped and blushed slightly. He then began to examine every detail of Rae's body, to check for any flaws.

Rae's body didn't move. Her bare chest was rising gently, though, so Al was relieved.

Rae's eyes flickered open after a few minutes of silence. She tried to move, but she felt too weak.

Al looked into Rae's eyes and smiled. "Rae, don't move," he whispered, "you're not strong enough yet…"

Rae nodded silently.

Al's eyes shimmered. He then pulled her into a hug. "I'm just glad you're back…" He whispered in her ear.

Rae smiled weakly and nodded. She tried to speak, but no words could come form her.

Al let go of Rae. "Something wrong?" He asked, a bit of worry in his eyes.

Rae shook her head. She didn't want him to worry.

_Alphonse… I can't speak!_


	10. Chapter 9

It had been a week since Rae was revived, and even though she did not speak, the group continued planning the war. They were in the warehouse, all sitting on the cold floor.

Kaori placed a long sheet of paper and a pen in front of Rae. "Can you draw out a map of the school?" Rae nodded.

Mac furrowed his eyebrows. "Kaori, how're we supposed to get backup? The students won't help us!"

"We can't do this alone, I know," she replied.

Rae poked Kaori with her pen. She then pointed to the paper. She was pointing out that she had finished sketching.

"Good." Kaori said, taking the map. She then studied it for a while. "Rae, are these secret passages?"

X's eyes widened. "S---secret passages!"

Rae opened her mouth to reply, but she then slowly closed it shut once more.

_Why can't I speak!_ She thought.

Kai's ear twitched.

Rae just nodded. Afterwards, she pulled a notebook out of her bag and began writing a message.

Al looked over at her and a rush of guilt shot through his body. He knew that she couldn't speak because of his transmutation.

Rae pointed to the notebook noisily, smiling a little. Kaori picked up the notebook and began reading:

"'I have a plan,'" she began, "'hand me the map...'"

X then handed the map to Rae. Kaori continued to read.

"'All we have to do is...'" Kaori trailed off and gasped. "Rae!" She cried out.

Rae smirked and nodded. _Continue on..._

Kai gasped and turned to Rae. "Did you just speak!"

Everybody else turned to Kai. "Of course not! She's a mute, stupid!" X cried out. Rae furrowed her eyebrows at that comment. X then hit Kai in the back of her head.

"Ouch!" Kai yelled. "But... I heard her! I really did! She said, 'continue on'!"

Rae's eyes widened. _Kai... you're psychic!_

Kai gasped. "Rae, I'm _psychic_!"

Al grinned. "That's great!" He said.

Kai cocked her head to the side. "So... I can say everything Rae thinks?"

_Not everything!_ Rae thought, blushing a little.

Kai smirked. "I'll just say those things when you're not around..."

Rae gasped and stuck out her tongue. _No beer room for you!_

Kai's brow furrowed. "Damn you to hell."

Kaori stood up. "Can I just continue reading on!" She waved the sheet of paper that Rae had written on.

Everyone nodded. Rae smirked over at a scowling Kai.

Kaori continued reading. "'All we have to do is kill the higher-ups, including Roy, and we can run the military the way we want to. It seems right!'" She then sat down and placed the paper in front of her.

"I agree with that plan." Mac stated.

_Kai, hand me the paper._ Rae ordered.

Kai nodded and obeyed. Rae then took the paper and grabbed her pencil. She continued writing.

A few minutes later, she handed the paper to Kaori. She then grabbed the map of Cedarcrest.

"'See these secret passages? Some lead to a hidden basement, where unfinished Philosopher's Stones are.'" Kaori read, watching Rae point to places on the map. "'If a few of us can sneak down there during class time, we can steal the unfinished stones and the rest of us can refine them.'"

_Kaori, for your safety, you're not going to do any of this. Instead, you're staying with me to make more plans._ Rae thought.

Kai repeated, and when finished, Kaori nodded.

_I want to watch over Rae, but if it helps the plan, I'll help the others..._ Al thought.

Kai smirked. "I heard that, Al."

The boy blushed a little bit. "I don't care if you tell her, really." He whispered.

Kai nodded. "I'll just tell her once we get back to her house!"

Kaori shook her head. "We can't return back to our homes," she stated. "All of us are wanted by the military now. This is our new hideout. And, since we're wanted, we can't return to school until the plan follows through."

Rae stood up in silent shock. _You're kidding me, right!_

Kai repeated Rae's thoughts. Kaori shook her head once again. "I'm afraid not, Rae. This is where we're living for a long while."

_Well, at least I'll be living with Al!_ Rae thought happily._ Kai, quit giggling._

Kai stopped. "Fine, whatever."

A few moments passed by, leaving the group to think.

_I wonder what Kaori is thinking..._ Kai wondered.

_Get out of my mine or else I'll hurt you, Kai._ Kaori thought.

The green-haired girl groaned. _How did you know?_

_I just did, okay, Kai? _Kaori yelled in her head.

Jae waved to X, Mac, and Ed. She had a bag strapped to her back and was standing in front of one of the secret passages that Rae mapped out.

"Ready guys?" The tanned girl asked. Her small orange kitten mewed softly.

The group walked silently down the stone staircase. The passageway was dark, but they could still see.

Jae led them farther down the staircase. Up ahead, she saw a glowing red light.

"Let's go, I can see it! Come on!" She said, descending faster.

X, Mac, and Ed gasped when they reached the bottom.

Jae looked around. She noticed the room was like Laboratory Five, but it was a bit bigger and had more glass cases full of unfinished stones.

Jae handed Mac and X her bag. "Go get the stones," she groaned, crossing her arms.

Ed stayed behind as the other two gathered everything they could. He rested a hand on Jae's shoulder.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

Jae nodded. "Just... thinking about the war..." She paused and looked down at her shaking hands.

Ed frowned and gently took the girl's hand into his own. "Come on. If it hurts you, you shouldn't be here."

Jae nodded again. "X, Mac, you guys ready?"

The two nodded. Their large sack dragged behind them as they followed Ed and Jae back up the stairs.

Kai started thinking and tapped into Jae's thoughts.

_Hey, Jae, you finished yet?_

_Yup! We're heading back right now!_

Kai repeated her words to Al, Kaori, and Rae. The three nodded.

_So all we have to do is ambush Roy right in his office. Kai, contact Jae and tell her group to meet us outside Roy's office._ Rae ordered.

Kai repeated what Rae's plan to the others in the warehouse. Kaori nodded.

"Good idea," she said, purple eyes glowing.

Rae nodded, smiling.

The group finally met up in the school hallway. They walked just outside Roy's office door.

"Nice of you to come."

_...Bradley._ Rae thought. She then pulled out a gun from her jacket.

A moment later, a trap door opened under Rae and Al. The others escaped.

Rae fell silently, unable to see anything in the darkness.

She landed hard on the basement floor, then looked around, noting that this was the room full of unfinished Philosopher's stones.

Rae wanted to gasp. She saw Al lying unconscious on the other side of the room. She quickly got up, but a voice interrupted her.

"Stop, Passion. Wrath, hold her down." Pride's voice rang.

Wrath walked out of the shadows, an evil grin plastered on his face. He quickly clapped his hands and touched the floor, erecting an alchemy flamel statue from the cement.

Rae's body was frozen. Pride's gaze was fixed with hers.

He then charged at the girl and pulled out his two blades. Rae tried to evade his attack; but got stabbed in both shoulders, getting pinned to the statue behind her.

She closed her eyes tightly in pain. _Kai! Kai! Can you hear me!_

No response. Rae wanted to panic, but she kept her composure. She then glanced over at Al's body. He hadn't woken up yet.

Pride gazed into Rae's eyes darkly. "So, tell me, Passion, why were you going to Mustang's office if you were expelled? Nonetheless bringing a dirty Ishbalan with you?"

Rae didn't speak. She only glared at the man in front of her.

"Speak, Passion!" He yelled, pulling out one of his swords to make the girl's body dangle.

Rae closed her eyes tightly, feeling her shoulder ripping from the force of her weight. She opened her mouth, wanting to scream at the top of her lungs.

Pride's eyes flashed. "I said 'speak, Passion'! When I address you, you speak to me!" He then stabbed her in the right side of her body, pulling until the blade was resting in the center of her chest.

Rae began to squirm. _KAI!_ She screamed in her head.

The man then grabbed her dangling wrist and took out the blade from her chest. He slowly cut along her veins.

Rae's eyes widened as she let out an ear-shattering scream.

Al awoke, eyes opening in an instant.

Rae thrashed around. "You won't get a _word_ out of me, Pride!" She screamed as tears flooded down her cheeks.

Al stood up and clapped his hands, then slammed them onto the ground. The cement floor shot out and encased Pride.

Rae watched her blood fall from her wrist and onto the floor. Her vision was blurry, even with her glasses on. Her eyelids felt heavy, so she closed them; just before losing consciousness.

"Rae!" Al cried out. He walked over to her and examined her cuts.

Just then, Wrath dashed out of the shadows and wrapped his arm tightly around the other boy's neck, choking the boy. Al clapped his hands instantly, then touched Wrath's forearm, destroying it.

Wrath screamed and let go of Al, clenching the bloody stump that was once his arm.

Al didn't turn to look at Wrath. "Get out of here," he ordered.

The boy gulped and ran up the nearby staircase.

He just gazed at Rae's body, thankful that she was still alive. Just then, Pride erupted from the concrete shell that Al transmuted.

Back at the warehouse, Jae, Mac, and Ed walked in and saw Kaori looking through what seemed like millions of files and books.

"Where did you get all this?" Ed asked.

"I found it, I also found files on about..." Kaori paused, sighing. "My father, and how he made my mother and I Philosopher's stones; but, some pages are missing."

"That's great! I... think so..." Mac said, trailing off.

"I need these papers that are missing, but I just can't get them..." Kaori said, sighing once more.

"Why?" Jae asked.

"They are kept in many different places... Three to be exact." Kaori replied.

"And they are..?" Ed asked.

"Central Headquarters, Central Library, and in the basement of Cedarcrest."

"What're the problems? Why don't you just get them?" Mac asked.

"The library's all ash, Sloth and or Envy might be at Headquarters, and Pride's at the school."

"So what?" Jae asked. "I understand the whole library deal, but what's wrong with Pride? You guys have fought him before..."

Kaori sighed. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," the girl replied, red eyes darkening.

"Some things are better left unsaid."

"Why won't you tell us? We're your friends!"

"I don't want to tell you guys, and I don't have to."

Even though it was late, Kaori stayed up studying the files, books, and everything else Jae, Mac, and Ed brought from the school.

_They would never understand what I've been through..._ Kaori thought.

"Hey," a soft voice said, "aren't you going to sleep?"

"No, Mac." Kaori said monotonly.

"You know that Jae was just trying to help, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't need any help, not now."

"Just remember, we're here for you, you're a close friend to all of us..."

"Just go back to sleep."

"Fine."

Mac walked off. Kaori sighed, watching him.

_Why do they even bother to try and help me when I don't need it? ...I'm gonna find my father's notes and turn myself back to normal..._ She thought.

Kaori left the warehouse when the others went to sleep. She headed over to Central Headquarters, hoping to retrieve the files. After she got in, she wandered around trying to find the wanted items.

"It isn't very smart to be here by yourself, Mustang." Envy's voice rang as he walked out of the shadows.

"Why do you care?" Kaori asked.

"We can't let our only chance to become human die before we get what we want."

"Why me?"

"You're the only one capable."

"So? What about Rae, Al, or Ed?"

"They're too weak. You're the strongest in your little group."

"I'm never going to do your dirty work!"

Sloth walked out of the shadows. "Don't be too sure about that." She then morphed into water and surrounded Kaori's feet.

"I'll never do anything for you!" The girl cried out.

"Remember how dear old dad punished you for using alchemy?" Sloth asked.

"How do you of all people know that?" Kaori asked.

"I was there with you," Envy said, "remember your father's assistant? That was me dressed as another person."

"You remember the lake and chains, Kaori?" Sloth asked.

"What do you want from me!" She cried out.

"Just make us the stone, girl!" Envy demanded.

"I don't want to! I don't have to!" Kaori shouted.

"You've been studying the stone, right?" Sloth asked.

"Why do you care?" The girl asked in reply.

"I'll ask once more," Envy began, "will you make us the stone?"

"Let me think about that... NO!" Kaori yelled.

"Then drown!" Sloth said, wrapping herself around Kaori's entire body.

The girl squirmed and thrashed around, trying to break free; but failed.

"Don't kill her," Envy said.

"I won't..." Sloth said.

Kaori blacked out just after seeing her life flash before her eyes.

_I'm going to die, aren't I...?_

Back at the warehouse, Mac woke up and began walking to Kaori's room.

_I wonder if she's still awake... It's almost dawn..._

"Kaori?" He called out softly. No response.

The boy looked around until a stack of books fell on him.

"What's with all the noise?" Ed asked, rubbing his eyes as he walked into the space.

Mac climbed out of the pile. "What would Rae do if I said I lost Kaori?" He asked, chuckling.

"Hmm... She would--- YOU LOST HER!" Ed yelled.

"Yeah..." Mac mumbled, backing away.

"You idiot!" Ed yelled, punching Mac.

The boys' angers rose, and a fist fight began.

"Nnn... What the hell is going on?" Jae asked sleepily.

The boys both ignored Jae and continued fighting. They got so mad with each other that they actually tried stabbing each other. One with automail, the other with transmuted knives.

"Stop!" Jae cried out, fully awake and understanding the situation. She then grabbed the thickest books in the room and hit the boys upside the head with them.

Al squirmed, trying to get free from Pride's grasp. "Let me go!" He cried out.

Pride tightened his grip on the boy's shoulders, making him yell in pain.

Rae hadn't woken yet.

"Why did you revive her, boy? You're supposed to keep a sinner dead!" Pride yelled.

Al furrowed his eyebrows. "She's _not_ a sinner! Now let me--- AH!" He cried out in pain once more.

Pride had his sword in hand, but the blade had penetrated through the boy's arm. Blood quickly trickled down the limb.

"I'll let you live for now."

The man then pulled out his sword and quickly flipped it. Al was too weak to notice the hilt was aimed right at him.

In a single move, Pride thrusted the handle into Al's stomach, knocking him down.

He walked off, leaving the teens unconscious.

Kaori was placed in a tank filled with water, but it was shallow enough to allow the girl to breathe.

Eventually, Mac found her in this tank.

Kaori was just wading in the water while songs and memories were playing in her mind.

"Kaori..!" He yelled, but kept quiet to not get caught.

"Mac..?" Kaori asked softly.

"Where's Envy or Sloth?"

"I don't---"

"So, you found her?" Sloth asked, walking towards the two.

"What do you want with Kaori?" Mac asked.

"You'll know, it just takes some time..."

"Tell me!" Mac demanded angrily.

"No. But, answer this: why does Kaori always need someone to save her?"

"I don't know, but I help her whenever I can."

"I'll leave now, but first, I'll give Kaori something to think about... What if you never met Rae and Mac, Kaori? They would never be in this situation if they never met you. You caused them pain every time you left; you made Rae cry and even hurt her. It's your entire fault."

_It's true... This is all my fault..._ Kaori thought.

"Kaori... Are you okay..?" Mac asked.

"... Yeah."

"You sure?"

No answer.

"Don't believe Sloth, we're with you because we chose to be, not because you dragged us into it..." He said softly.

The group met back at the warehouse, Rae and Al included.

Kaori studied most of the time, thinking that ignoring her hunger and lack of energy was best. Ed didn't understand most of Kaori's blunt, one-word answers and was starting to think the girl had gone crazy. Kai wouldn't dare read Kaori's mind again. She saw Kaori's past and was scared out of her mind for about a week. Mac tried to cheer Kaori up, but failed every time. Anyone who looked into Kaori's eyes saw a girl whose heart had been ripped straight out of her.

"Kaori isn't hurt; there are no bruises, cuts, or anything! What's wrong with her?" Ed asked one day.

"She was tortured." Mac stated.

"But, like I said, she isn't hurt at all!" Ed replied.

"It was mental torture." Mac said simply.

"So?" The blonde asked.

"In Kaori's mind, mental torture has a greater effect," The brunette began, "because she has too many regrets from her past; fears she never said anything about."

Ed sent him a blank stare.

"In other words, she's now shy, quiet, and closed-off to others." Rae said, adjusting her glasses.

"Oh." Ed sighed, looking down.

"Mac... how was she tortured?" Rae asked.

"I really don't know all the details, but when I found her she was in a tank of water. She looked as if she was struggling to breathe... Then Sloth said something to her, about us... I couldn't hear it, but it had a huge impact on the poor girl..." He explained.

"Water! Was it deep?" Rae asked, gasping.

"It was to Kaori..."

Rae cursed.

"Why is that such a problem?" Al asked.

"I can't tell you. Sorry." She said quickly.

"And why not?" Ed asked, brow furrowed.

"Kaori just made me promise, okay?" She replied sharply.

"... Mac?" Ed looked at him, smirking.

"Never." The boy crossed his arms and glared at the other.

"Damn it!" He yelled.

All of a sudden, a noise sounded from Kaori's room.

"What the...?" Ed wondered aloud.

He walked into Kaori's room and saw the girl sharpening swords, knives, and all types of blades, including a long scythe.

"What're you doing, Kaori?" Ed asked, knocking on the side of the entrance.

"Bug." Kaori said, eyeing a fly on the wall. She then threw a blade at the wall. "Give it here."

"The bug!" Ed asked, surprised.

"No, you idiot. Those knives over there."

He looked around and saw two different looking swords. He grabbed and handed them to her. "Who got you these?"

"Made 'em myself."

"Huh? How?"

"Go away."

"Fine."

Kaori looked out a nearby window. "Damn it..."

"What was that..?" Ed asked, head popping back into the entrance.

She ignored him and sharpened some more blades.

Rae and Al were sitting in a corner of the warehouse, bandages and research papers surrounding them.

"By using the circle inside the school building---Al, they're too tight--- the homunculi can turn every single student and teacher into Philosopher's stones..." She read.

X walked over, tails swishing. "There's a mistake in that, Rae."

The couple looked up at her.

"The homunculi can't use alchemy." X said, smirking.

"Wrath can. Envy uses it to change forms." Rae replied.

X didn't have a reply.

"Plus," Rae began, lifting a finger, "some will follow the new Fuhrer's orders, and can be manipulated by him, to just be used for the stone!"

"You beat me, Rae." X stated, walking off with her ears and tails lowered.

The next day, Danielle showed up at the warehouse, being greeted by a glomping Kai.

Rae walked over, not even caring that she was walking around with only bandages covering her torso.

"Hey, Danielle. What's the reason for stopping by?"

"No reason, just got back from an assignment from Mustang. Did you know he's the new Fuhrer?"

"... Tell me about it. Come in." She led Danielle to a corner in the back where she had been researching.

"So, you said Mustang's the Fuhrer?"

"Yup. Got promoted when King Bradley was murdered..."

"I see... So, what was the assignment?"

"Oh! They asked me to start investigating some people."

Rae nodded, signaling for her to continue. But Danielle shook her head.

"Sorry, that's all I can really say..."

Rae frowned a little, but then smiled. "Yeah, I know how those assignments are." She commented, chuckling slightly.

"So, how's life living in this huge ware---whoa, how'd you get so bloody?" Danielle asked, eyes widening.

Rae blinked and looked at her bandages. "Nothing. Al..?" She called out for him. He walked over to her immediately.

"You cuts split open again..." He sighed softly and grabbed some medicine and bandages.

Rae nodded to Danielle, dismissing her. The other girl stood up and walked to Kai and X, who were playing a game of poker.

"Can I join you guys?"

"Next game." The girls said in unison.

That night, Kaori was still studying. Everyone else was sleeping. Kaori looked outside her window and saw a woman with light purple hair. She walked out of the warehouse and up to the woman.

"Who are you?" Kaori asked.

"Kaori-chan? You don't remember me?" The woman asked, looking downcast.

"No... Was I supposed to..?"

_She looks familar, though..._

"I don't blame you... I'm sorry I left you guys. How is Chiyochan?"

"Who are you? And how do you know my sister's name?"

"I'm your mother, Kaori..."

Kaori kept quiet, letting the words sink in. "Why are you here..?"

"That doesn't matter. Look, General Hakuro is paying your father to find you and your friends. I guess it's to take you to Central Headquarters for questioning..."

"And then?"

"Execution."

"Anything else you know?"

"Danielle is a spy sent by Roy Mustang."

The two then heard noises, so they hid behind the nearby bushes. Danielle and tons of soldiers marched by. They then stopped in front of the warehouse doors.

"Alright men!" Danielle called out. "I have clear knowledge that Kaori and her accomplices are in this building. Now, let's go, go, go!"

Rae had awoken a while before the troops stormed in. She had already alerted the others so they could be ready to fight.

Kai and X teamed up to fight ten soldiers at once. X clapped her hands and touched the floor, creating a black ring of fire around the soldiers. Kai then snapped her fingers, which created a large storm cloud. It then sent out a large thunder that shook the warehouse; and then sent out a lightning bolt. The two then ran to other soldiers and repeated their attacks.

Rae fought with all her strength, not even caring that she was losing blood in the process. She quickly clapped her hands and touched her chest, temporarily stopping the blood. She alternated between doing this and shooting at the soldiers.

Some soldiers explored through the building. They then walked into Kaori's room.

Kaori ran into the warehouse after making sure her mother could get away. "Rae!" She called out. "If they touch or take anything in my room, they could find out about the stone research!"

Rae nodded after throwing a soldier into the cement wall. She ran through all of the rooms, only to find each ransacked.

"What the hell!" She cried out, looking into Kaori's room. "Damn it..."

Research papers were scattered everywhere. Two soldiers were reading through some blueprints.

"Bastards!" She yelled, pulling out two guns and shooting them both in an instant.

_I shouldn't tell Kaori now..._

X and Kai then cried out, interrupting her thoughts.

"Let go, Danie--!" Kai's voice sounded.

Rae ran over to find Danielle holding onto X and Kai by their bleeding wrists. They were both unconscious.

She immediately charged over to the other girl, only to be kicked in the stomach when she got close. Rae flew back from the force.

She then looked around, wondering why nobody else was helping her. Kaori, Mac, Al, Ed, and Jae all seemed to be gone.

Rae pulled out a gun and pointed it at Danielle. "Drop them! And get out!"

She didn't budge. "Do it, I dare you."

Rae's eyes narrowed as the pulled the trigger. She was then shocked to see Danielle move her arm in front of the lightning-fast bullet and making it ricochet off the limb. Her jacket tore, revealing an automail forearm.

Rae immediately ducked, barely avoiding the speeding bullet. "Why you!" She then charged toward the other girl.

Danielle easily dodged Rae's attacks. She noticed her shirt was becoming drenched in blood, so she decided to make the girl fight until she couldn't any longer...

Which wasn't long.

Rae dropped to the ground, panting and bleeding. "Why... did you do this..?"

Danielle kicked Rae in the ribs, causing the bones to break under the pressure.

She screamed in pain. "Answer me!"

She didn't answer, but picked Rae up and slapped her. Rae grunted and winced, but did not fight back. "A... nswer... me..."

Another slap.

Rae's cuts continued bleeding, but she didn't mind it. The loss of blood was starting to make her dizzy, though.

"Answer me. This is a direct order from a higher ranking soldier."

Danielle's eyes narrowed. "Never. Once you were wanted, you were nothing but a criminal."

She then kneed Rae in her already broken ribs. "Nothing more than that."

Rae was already on the ground after Danielle had spoken. Her vision faded away.

As Danielle walked into a room, she was hit in the shoulder by Kaori.

"Bastard! What did you do with Rae!" She yelled.

With no reply, Danielle started to throw punches and kicks at Kaori with no effort; the other girl dodged them all.

"Come on, you're going to have to do better than that!" Kaori said, smiling cockily.

"Damn" Danielle yelled, still trying to hit the purple-haired teen.

"You shouldn't even try."

A moment later, Rae was thrown into the room. She opened her eyes and groaned. "H-hey guys…"

Danielle took advantage of the moment and grabbed Kaori by the neck and threw the girl at the wall. She quickly clapped her hands and destroyed the concrete before crashing into it. She flew threw the newly-created hole and landed on Mac in the opposite room.

_Great… She's unconscious and lying right on me…_ He thought, groaning.

"What the hell?" Ed asked, cocking his head to the side.

A minute later, Rae's body flew through the hole.

"Ouch…" She groaned.

"Are you okay?" Al asked, kneeling next to her.

Danielle jumped through the hole and almost landed on Rae, but Al quickly lifted her up before Danielle could land on her.

Danielle glared at Al. "Her ribs are already broken. Not to mention a lot of blood has been lost lately. There's no hope for her." She then pulled out a knife and began slashing at the boy.

Kaori woke up the next day in a room that looked very familiar to her. She tried to stand up, but noticed she was tied to a chair. After thirty minutes, Roy and Hughes walked in.

"So, little sister, how have you been?" Roy asked.

"I'm not so little anymore, flame in the ass." Kaori replied, glaring.

"Danielle told me you and your friends are trying to plan something. What is it?"

"So, what _hasn't_ Danielle told you?"

"Just answer the question, and you can leave" Hughes said calmly.

"No." Kaori replied firmly.

"Answer the damn question!" Roy yelled.

_Keep calm, Kaori… He'll get pissed eventually and let me leave without letting him know anything…_

"I'll never tell you." She said.

"What about Rae?" Hughes asked.

"Who is that?" Kaori asked.

"You know who she is, damn it!" Roy furrowed his brow, face turning red.

"We found papers about the Philosopher's Stone in your room. What are you going to use it for?" Hughes asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kaori stated simply.

"The stone, why do you need such power?" Roy asked.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." Kaori said.

Silence.

"Short." Roy said.

"Flame boy." Kaori replied.

"You're shorter than Ed. Now, that's sad."

"You're less talented than Ed. Now _that's _sad."

"Alchemic tool."

"Lazy bum."

"Street rat."

"Dog of the military, checkmate. I win."

Roy got pissed.

"What if I made you a deal?" He asked.

"What kind of deal?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You will be able to leave and study the Philosopher's Stone…"

"Go on."

"If you just come back to the military; but Danielle will be watching over you."

_Hmm…_ Kaori thought, _if I study the Stone I can help the others, but Danielle… I guess I'll do it, but I have to find a way to tell Rae or Mac._

"I'll do it." Kaori said, smirking.

"Good. You're first task is to…"

Danielle bursted through the doors. "Someone escaped!"

"Who?" Roy asked.

"Mac!"

"Did you try to catch him?"

"How could anyone keep up with that boy!"

"Kaori, go get him."

Danielle untied Kaori, letting the girl free to run off.

"How can you trust her, sir?" Danielle asked.

"She'd do anything for the Stone, Danielle, it'll all work out in the end. No go follow them."

Meanwhile, Mac was still running. _Where's Kaori! _He thought. He then heard steps behind him, so he stopped, then turned around. "Kaori!"

"Shh… I don't have much time…" She said, putting a finger to her lips.

"What?"

"Just keep running, I'll explain."

The two set off and she quickly explained everything. She finished at great time, because they then saw Danielle up ahead.

"Hurry up!" Kaori whispered to Mac. "And tell Rae and the others everything…"

Mac ran faster, and Kaori tried to keep up with him. He looked back at her confusedly.

"What do you think you're doing, Ka?"

"I need you to make it look like I'm trying to catch you…"

After a few minutes, Mac started to run faster and Kaori slowed down. Eventually, Kaori slowed to a stop and Danielle caught up with her.

"Damn, I need to start running again," Kaori said, panting.

"What is he going to do?" Danielle asked, scowling.

"I don't know, but I think they're planning something that I don't know about…" She lied.

"So what do we do now?" Danielle asked.

"Hey, aren't _you_ supposed to be the one giving the orders?" Kaori asked, hiding a smirk.

"Kaori is working for the military… She betrayed us just like that tall freak, Danielle!" Ed yelled, back in the warehouse.

"I know!" X cried out.

"That's not what happened!" Mac said, frowning.

"What?" Rae asked, being bandaged by Al.

"She's studying the Philosopher's Stone, Roy trusts her again." Mac explained.

Al tightened Rae's bandages, causing the girl to groan; and looked towards Mac. "How does he know that Kaori won't betray him?"

"He doesn't, Kaori is making up false stories about us so Danielle and Roy won't catch on to her plan." Mac said, grinning.

"Well then, what do we do when she's gone?" Kai asked.

"I don't know… All we can really do is wait." Mac said, grin fading.

"But hey, what if Kaori gets hurt?" Jae asked.

"She'll make it through any pain. We know her better than that." Mac smiled again, sure of his response.

"And if she doesn't?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on, Ed, after what Pride did to her, do you really think she's going to let herself get killed? And she made a promise…" Mac said.

"What!" X stood up in rage. "What kind of promise is greater than her life!"

"She doesn't want to be known as an Alchemic Tool or just Roy's Little Sister. She wants her own name to be known." Mac replied, trying to smile.

"That's just stupid!" Ed yelled.

Rae sighed, still allowing Al to bandage her. "No, Ed, it isn't. when we were younger, Kaori and I would go places and people would point and say, 'hey, that's Mustang's little sister'. Everywhere we went, the same exact thing…" She sighed again, closing her eyes and turning her head, ridding the memory.

There was a loud banging on one of the front doors. Rae furrowed her eyebrows and mouthed to Al, "should I?"

Al shook his head and stood up, then walked to one of the large metal doors and opened it slightly. The heavy door immediately swung open.

"Where's Kaori!" A man called out.

Rae stood up, pulling on her uniform jacket. "Who are you? Who did you bring!"

"I brought nobody… I'm Kaori's father. Now where is she!"


	11. Chapter 10

"Where is Kaori?" He bellowed.  
"I won't tell you." Rae said weakly. Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees.

Kaori's father then pulled out a vial of red liquid. "I'll give you the formula of this if you tell me where Kaori is."

The group froze.

"The stone..." Ed said in awe.

_I always wanted to use it... Mac even said that Kaori can take care of herself... I should take the chance..._ He thought, smirking.

"Never!" Rae yelled.  
"No, wait! I'll tell you where she is!" Ed said, grinning widely.

Kaori's father smirked.

"EDWARD!" X yelled. "ARE YOU CRAZY?"  
"Maybe..." He replied.

_No, Kaori's going to be in trouble if we can't find and tell her about this..._ Mac thought.

"So, Danielle, why did you choose the State over your friends?" Kaori asked.  
"What? I was the one who set Mac free!" Danielle said, smiling.  
"What. Did. You. Say!" Kaori asked, shocked.  
"Well, I ordered someone to..." She replied.  
"Who might that be?"  
"It was---"

She stopped. Kaori sensed someone was coming by the room she and Danielle were in.

A few moments later, Hughes walked in.

"Kaori, you need to get out of here." He said.  
"Hmm? Why?" She asked.  
"Someone in the higher ups bribed your father to come and kill you."  
"Who told you this!"

"ED! How could you do this!" Kai yelled.  
"You told him!" Rae immediately used all of her strength to shake the older teen. "Do you know what chaos you could cause by doing this!" She fell to her knees once more, too weak to get up.  
"Well, Mac said that she could handle things on her own... Isn't that right?" Ed said, frowning.

Silence.

Al looked around. Mac was already gone.

"Roy told me." Hughes said.  
"What do we do?" Danielle asked.  
"Danielle, escort Kaori back to her friends. Once you do, you will be fired." Hughes ordered.  
"Oh, really now?" She asked, crossing her arms.  
"You're a known double agent, Tabb."  
"Do I have to explain all this to Rae?" Kaori asked.  
"Yes. Now go." Hughes said.

Just then, an alarm sounded and Havoc walked in.

"Mac Fraisier has been spotted, sirs!" He said.  
"Okay. Kaori, Danielle, go get him." Hughes ordered.  
"Why do you want that, Hughes?" Havoc asked.  
"I have my reasons. Now go!"

After Kaori and Danielle ran off, Hughes reported their escape to Roy.

"What did you say!" Roy yelled.  
"You heard me, Roy." Hughes said.  
"My best soldier was a double agent!"  
"I'm afraid so."

"Where are there soldiers after us..!" Danielle asked, running as fast as she could.  
"Hughes must've reported us straight to Roy... Wonderful." Kaori said.  
"Why would he do that!"  
"So we can never go back to betray the military."

**WHAM!**

Kaori fell to the ground, Mac falling in front of her.

"Get up, you two!" Danielle ordered. "The soldiers are coming!"

Everyone except Rae and Al began hitting Ed as hard as they could.

_...I wonder if Kaori is even alive anymore..._ Rae thought, tearing up at the thought.

"Rae," Kai began, "don't you want to help us beat up Ed?"  
"Too worried for Kaori. Have fun without me."  
"Can't she just take care of herself!" Ed yelled.  
"With her father around, I'm just not sure..." Rae said, sighing.  
"What's wrong with her dad?" Jae asked.

"Danielle, hurry!" Kaori yelled, running.  
"How the heck do you run this much!" Danielle asked, panting.  
"You really don't want to know." Mac said.

When they stopped running, Kaori was surprised to see that some of the teen soldiers could keep up with her.

"I see Roy is pushing the students further than he used to..." Kaori thought aloud.  
"Damn it!" Mac said, panting.  
"Danielle, welcome to the 'dark side'; be prepared to kill quite a few soldiers." Kaori said, smirking evilly.  
"WHAT!" Danielle asked, shocked by the comment.  
"You heard her. Just be prepared... Do you know how to bandage broken limbs?" Mac asked.  
"Not at all."  
"You're gonna have to learn, then. But first..." Kaori smirked. "Let's kill."

But before Mac, Kaori, or even Danielle could lay a hand on the soldiers, a blue-haired man used alchemy to kill them all.

Kaori's heart nearly stopped. _My father..._ She thought.

In an instant, Kaori fled. She had no clue where she was going, but she ran faster than she had ever done in her life.

"Kaori! Come back!" Mac yelled.

Kaori's dad then used a special alchemy to temporarily stop Mac and Danielle in their tracks. He was going to get Kaori, dead or alive.

Kaori continued running, but stopped just before reaching the edge of a cliff. She looked down and saw a river with a current so strong that it could rip her into pieces.

_What am I going to do!_ She thought. _I'm tired and I can't feel my legs any more..._

She heard steps behind her that made her body freeze. All she could do was hope that it was Mac or Danielle.

"Kaori! Come here!"

_I could jump... But if I die..._ She thought.

"I said 'come here'!" Her father yelled.  
"Never!" She screamed.

She then took the chance and jumped off the cliff.


End file.
